Global banks, including Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFY) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), processed over $6.9 billion from a Russia-backed financial firm that deceived its way into the international financial system through massive document forgery, according to a report.
A7, a state-backed cross-border payment network designed to help Russian businesses and military entities bypass Western financial sanctions, laundered over $6.9 billion through the global banking system in spite of curbs on Russia, the Financial Times reported, citing hundreds of thousands of files from within A7.
Some payments were related to sensitive war-related products, including military tools and security services bought from Russia, the report said. To make payments, A7 relied on a network of front companies and current businesses to gain access to the SWIFT system, it added. The Russian firm allegedly hid these techniques through a broad forgery operation to make counterfeit invoices.
Between late 2024, when A7 was set up, and August 2025, accounts held at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong received $1.1 billion from A7-associated organizations. DBS Group Holdings (OTC:DBSDY) in Hong Kong was transferred $273 million, while Citigroup clients got $74 million during the same time frame, the report added. Clients of Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) in Europe were also sent about $18 million, it said.
A7 reportedly created accounts at UAE’s First Abu Dhabi for 17 separate entities, which sent over $1.8 billion in payments. The firm also set up accounts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and DBS.
Citi, DBS, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. Standard Chartered declined to comment.
Political Backlash Against Russia
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed the Trump administration after the report came out, saying that it has been over a year and a half since the administration stopped regularly sanctioning evaders who help Russia’s war efforts.
“And we’ve called on the Admin to expose the many entities behind the Kremlin-backed A7 network,” said Warren.
Last week, the Treasury Department levied new sanctions against Russia’s state-controlled VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, accusing it of aiding Iran. The department alleged that VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, helped Tehran dodge sanctions by "establishing correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks."
Russia’s Push to Defy West at BRICS Summit
Earlier this month at the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has faced more than 30,000 sanctions, arguing that economic pressure and trade restrictions have become tools of geopolitical competition. However, Putin noted that Russia responded by strengthening ties with “reliable, predictable partners” and that its economic growth over the past three years has exceeded the global average.
Meanwhile, an executive of the BRICS Business Council noted that a BRICS payment network could help the bloc expand local-currency trade and reduce reliance on Western financial channels, but building trust and common rules was a key challenge.
Shares of Citi closed +2.49% higher at $135.05 on Monday, while after-hours the stock dipped about 0.06%. JPMorgan Chase saw its stock climb 0.68% to close at $352.04 on Monday, while the shares declined around 0.02% after-hours.
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