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Russian cross-border payments platform A7 on Friday denied any links to Iran, a day after the U.S. Treasury Department designated it a "significant transnational criminal organization" for helping Tehran evade sanctions.
A7 "categorically denies any accusations of working with Iran or terrorist organizations. This is a blatant lie and slander. The company has never conducted transactions in their interests or serviced structures associated with them," the company said in a statement.
The designation, part of the Trump administration's "Operation Economic Outcast" against Iran, targets the leader of Russia's cross-border payments market, which Moscow has promoted as an alternative to the Western financial system.
A7 said it provides "uninterrupted payment settlements for the Russian market, which has been subjected to unlawful restrictive measures," servicing "legitimate import and export operations involving consumer goods and commodities."
"The very fact of such attention confirms the effectiveness of the alternative to the global financial system that we have built over several years," the company said.
"Sanctions against us are precisely recognition of this efficiency," the company added.
The Treasury announced that A7 built a global web of "sub-agents" to disguise payments linked to sanctioned sectors and persons as ordinary commercial activity, and that the network has been used by Iran, including its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The sub-agents processed more than $17 billion globally between January 2025 and June 2026, according to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
One sub-agent and its sister company received nearly $140 million from entities involved in Iranian sanctions evasion, including Iran's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, the department said.
The Treasury also linked the network to financial support for Iranian proxies such as Hamas.
"Treasury is dismantling the financial infrastructure that allows Iran and other adversaries to evade sanctions, move illicit funds, and undermine the integrity of the global financial system," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The designation blocks any A7 assets in the U.S. and bars Americans from dealing with the network or sub-agents acting on its behalf. FinCEN also proposed a rule that would prohibit fund transfers involving A7's sub-agents and issued an alert to help banks detect related activity.
The action expands U.S. sanctions imposed on several A7 entities in August 2025. The EU and Britain also sanctioned A7 last year, the Financial Times reported.
A7 was set up in 2024 with the backing of PSB, a state-owned bank focused on Russia's defense sector, and is led by Ilan Shor, a U.S.-sanctioned Moldovan oligarch.
Shor said at a September conference attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the platform had processed some 7.5 trillion rubles ($91.5 billion) over the preceding 10 months.
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