US targets $17 billion Russia-linked crypto payment network using USDT as an escape route

The US sanctioned the Russia-linked A7 Network and proposed new restrictions to cut its crypto intermediaries off from global markets.On Oct. 1, the Treasury Department designated A7 as a significant transnational criminal organization, extending blocking sanctions beyond individual companies previously targeted by Washington to the broader payment network. FinCEN simultaneously proposed barring covered financial institutions from transmitting funds involving identified A7 sub-agents.The measures target a shadow-payment system Treasury says has helped Russian sanctioned entities, Iran’s central bank and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other illicit actors move money through companies designed to make restricted transactions resemble ordinary commercial payments.FinCEN said A7 sub-agents processed more than $17 billion in dollar-denominated transactions between January 2025 and June 2026. Treasury separately said the network claimed in January to be handling more than 2,000 transactions a day worth the equivalent of $91.5 billion, or about 13% of Russia’s 2025 foreign trade.The designation gives financial firms an immediate compliance obligation where US sanctions jurisdictio...