A7A5 Ruble Stablecoin / A7 Network
Summary
A7A5 is a Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin launched in January 2025 and issued by Old Vector LLC, a Kyrgyzstan-based entity controlled by A7 LLC — a company co-owned by sanctioned Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor and Promsvyazbank, a Russian state-owned bank serving the defense sector. The stablecoin operates on the Ethereum and TRON blockchains and logged over $93 billion in cumulative trading volume in its first year despite having no listing on any major centralized exchange. A7 LLC and Old Vector LLC have been designated by the United Kingdom, United States, European Union, and multiple allied governments for alleged facilitation of Russian sanctions evasion and support for Russia's military procurement infrastructure.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 9 linked investigations- + 7 more
Timeline(17 events)
2024-10-01
A7 LLC incorporated in Moscow with Ilan Shor as majority owner (51%) and Promsvyazbank as minority owner (49%), stated purpose of facilitating cross-border financial transfers for Russian clients facing Western sanctions.
OpenSanctions / Centre for Information Resilience2024-12-01
Grinex incorporated in Kyrgyzstan by an individual with no known prior history in the exchange business — later identified as an alleged Garantex successor platform.
Garantex, Grinex, and the A7A5 Token — TRM Labs2025-01-01
A7A5 ruble-pegged stablecoin launched in Kyrgyzstan by Old Vector LLC on the TRON and Ethereum blockchains, with reserves claimed to be held at Promsvyazbank.
Elliptic — The rise of A7A52025-03-07
Law enforcement disrupts Garantex cryptocurrency exchange. On-chain data subsequently shows A7A5 tokens burned from Garantex wallets and equivalent amounts re-minted and routed to Grinex, providing the successor exchange with initial liquidity.
How A7A5 and Grinex Enable The Russian Shadow Crypto Economy — Chainalysis2025-05-20
UK FCDO first designates A7 LLC under Russian sanctions regulations.
A7 Limited Liability Company — OpenSanctions2025-07-11
A7A5 issuer begins injecting USDT liquidity into DEX pools; total injected reaches approximately $1.2–1.3 billion by mid-2025, with $150 million in daily A7A5/USDT volumes depleted within 10 minutes of provision.
The rise of A7A5: the Ruble stablecoin now transfers $1 billion per day — Elliptic2025-07-15
European Union designates A7 LLC as part of its Ukraine-related sanctions package.
A7 Limited Liability Company — OpenSanctions2025-07-21
A7A5 peak weekly activity recorded: approximately 524.8 billion tokens moved worth approximately $6.66 billion in a single week.
How A7A5 and Grinex Enable The Russian Shadow Crypto Economy — Chainalysis2025-08-14
OFAC designates A7 LLC, Old Vector LLC, subsidiaries A71 and A7 Agent, Grinex, InDeFi Bank, Exved, and Garantex executives Sergey Mendeleev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky. A7A5 daily volumes fall from peaks above $1.5 billion to approximately $500 million following the announcement.
OFAC Sanctions Crypto Network Behind Ruble-Backed Stablecoin — CoinDesk2025-09-03
Internal A7 data leaked publicly. Elliptic analysis documents $8 billion in stablecoin inflows to A7 wallets since early 2024, a $677 million single-wallet inflow, and internal applications used to manage alleged political activist payments in Moldova.
The A7 Leaks: The role of crypto in Russian sanctions evasion and election interference — Elliptic2025-10-23
EU adopts 19th sanctions package explicitly prohibiting any direct or indirect transactions involving the A7A5 token, effective November 25, 2025.
EU Sanctions A7A5 Stablecoin and Tightens Rules on Crypto Compliance — Scorechain2025-10-25
Russia's central bank officially recognizes A7A5 as a 'digital financial asset', according to Arkham Intelligence reporting.
A7A5: The Ruble Stablecoin Linked To A Growing Shadow Economy — Arkham Intelligence2025-11-25
EU sanctions explicitly prohibiting A7A5 transactions enter into force.
EU sanctions against A7A5 and Payeer come into effect — Elliptic2026-02-16
CoinDesk publishes interview with A7A5 regulatory director Oleg Ogienko, in which Ogienko claims full FATF and Kyrgyz regulatory compliance and states the company 'does not do illegal things,' while confirming the DeFi pivot following widespread CEX rejection.
We do not do illegal things: Inside the sanctioned stablecoin issuer A7A5's race to build a crypto giant — CoinDesk2026-05-24
CoinDesk reports Ogienko stating A7A5 can sustain a business model even if international sanctions on Russia are lifted, citing Asian, African, and South American trade settlement demand.
Ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 says it has a business even if sanctions end — CoinDesk2026-05-26
UK FCDO issues 18-entity crypto sanctions package, the most expansive UK crypto sanctions package to date, designating A7 network infrastructure including Old Vector LLC, Huobi Global S.A. (HTX), Exmo, Bitpapa, Rapira Group, ABCex, Aifory Pro, Grinex, Eurasian Savings Bank, and others. UK alleges the A7 network moved over $90 billion in 2025, roughly half Russia's annual military budget. First application of Regulation 17A banking-style sanctions to crypto exchanges.
UK targets sanctions circumvention and crypto networks exploited by Russia — GOV.UK2026-05-27
HTX issues public statement rejecting UK sanction allegations and confirming it had explicitly rejected A7A5's listing application following internal due diligence.
Crypto exchange HTX rejects U.K. sanction allegations — CoinDeskDecision Log
- hash: Bn6FN2g6eTSqvNVWfxHii6qReqPeDZddwMsFm7eMerGA
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/27/2026, 6:47:39 PM
last updated: 5/27/2026, 6:47:53 PM
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