US targets Russian shadow banking network tied to Iran sanctions evasion
- US sanctions designate A7 as a transnational criminal organisation and seek to cut its global payments network off from the US financial system
- Treasury alleges A7 facilitated transactions tied to Iran’s shadow fleet, with one network sub-agent receiving nearly $140m from Iranian sanctions-evasion entities
- The move follows UK action against A7 and signals growing Western focus on the financial infrastructure underpinning Russian and Iranian sanctions evasion
US authorities have escalated efforts to disrupt sanctions evasion by targeting the A7 Network, a Russian-linked shadow banking system accused of facilitating Iranian oil trade, shadow fleet transactions and billions of dollars in illicit cross-border payments