Kremlin-backed FinTech A7 has funnelled more than $6.9bn through the international banking system despite sanctions on Russia, according to a Financial Times investigation.
UK anti-money laundering technology company SmartSearch warns that the case exposes the limits of point-in-time compliance and strengthens the argument for ongoing sanctions monitoring.
The FT found that A7 relied on a web of front companies, existing businesses and counterfeit invoices to gain access to the SWIFT system. The findings arrive as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and UK Government issue an industry-wide alert, warning that the network depends on third-country financial institutions to sidestep sanctions.
The NCA says A7 claims to have settled more than $86bn of transactions in its first year, with the $6.9bn tracked by the FT reflecting only activity traced through international banking channels.
SmartSearch CEO Phil Cotter said, “That is not a fringe operation. It is a state-backed alternative value transfer system operating at a scale that touches the international financial system.”
According to the NCA, the network combined shell companies acting as sub-agents, fabricated invoices, correspondent banking relationships and the exploitation of SWIFT. Cotter remarked, “This is not a failure of any single institution. It is a highly sophisticated, deliberately layered exploitation of legitimate financial infrastructure, using techniques that are consistent with well-documented trade-based money laundering typologies.”
The stakes go well beyond regulatory breaches. The NCA has linked A7 to sanctioned state-owned lender Promsvyazbank and state development corporation VEB.RF. It says the network’s clients include “some of Russia’s most important players in the military-industrial complex”. The agency has also raised the possibility of proliferation financing.
The case comes as regulated firms grow increasingly anxious about geopolitical risk. SmartSearch’s State of Compliance in 2026 report surveyed 1,000 senior decision-makers across UK regulated sectors. It found that 96% expect geopolitical factors to shape their compliance strategies over the next 12 to 18 months. State-sponsored attacks were named the top geopolitical risk by 16%, while 11% cited shifting sanctions and embargoes.
Cotter said, “Firms have been telling us for months that they see this coming. The A7 case is a live example of what they have been worried about.”
SmartSearch argues that firms handling international payments, overseas customers or cross-border ownership structures can no longer rely on onboarding checks alone. Its research shows 54% of identity checks remain manual, and 52% of firms struggle to verify beneficial ownership across complex structures.
Cotter detailed, “A customer who was low-risk at onboarding six months ago may not be low-risk today. Geopolitical conditions change faster than annual review cycles.”
The UK Government says its response forms part of wider international action, including UK, US and EU designations and Operation DESTABILISE. Cotter nevertheless expects the pressure to intensify. Cotter said, “Regulated firms should expect more cases like this to surface, not fewer.”
The commercial fallout is also severe. SmartSearch found that 87% of businesses would sever ties with a brand after a single compliance breach.
Cotter said, “For every regulated firm that does not yet have continuous monitoring in place, the question is not whether the next incident will come, but whether the firm will be caught up in it when it does.”
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