FT investigation: Kremlin-backed fintech A7 laundered $6.9bn through Western banks
A leaked cache from inside Russian fintech A7 shows forged documents let it route billions through Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, sidestepping sanctions.
What to know
- FT's investigation is based on a leak from inside Kremlin-backed fintech A7.
- Roughly $6.9bn in Russian payments moved through major banks in the first half of 2025 using forged documentation.
- Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are named as banks that processed the payments.
- The scheme raises questions about how sanctions-compliance checks at global banks were circumvented.
A7 Kremlin-backed fintech at center of the schemeStandard Chartered International bankCitigroup International bankDeutsche Bank International bankFinancial Times Investigative outlet
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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FT amplifies findings, naming Deutsche Bank alongside others
FT's official social channel promotes the investigation, summarizing that the Kremlin-backed fintech used old-fashioned money laundering to funnel almost $7bn through Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.
“A Kremlin-backed fintech company used old-fashioned money laundering to bypass western sanctions and funnel almost $7bn through major international banks, including Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.”
— Financial Times -
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A Kremlin-backed fintech company used old-fashioned money laundering to bypass western sanctions and funnel almost $7bn through major international banks, including Standard Chartered, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Read today's excusive investigation 👉 ft.
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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! Scoop ! We have obtained hundreds of thousands of files from inside the Kremlin-backed fintech company A7, supposedly set up as an alternative to the western SWIFT system. 1/3 Kremlin-backed forgery scheme moved $6.9bn through global banks https://t.co/uftFB1g5mg via @ft
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A7, una fintech orquestada por el Kremlin, blanqueó más de 6.900 millones de dólares la primera mitad de 2025 a través de bancos internacionales usando documentación falsificada a gran escala para saltarse las sanciones a Rusia www.ft.com/content/3848... Kremlin-backed forgery scheme ...
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FT details how the forgery scheme bypassed sanctions checks
A companion FT piece lays out the mechanics of how A7's document forgery operation got past sanctions and compliance screening at global banks, including Deutsche Bank.
“Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international banks have handled billions of dollars from a Kremlin-backed fintech company that tricked its way into the global financial system with a vast document forgery operation.”
— hanse_mina, Mastodon user sharing the FT report · source -
first by FT, 2d ago
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Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international banks have handled billions of dollars from a Kremlin-backed fintech company that tricked its way into the global financial system with a vast document forgery operation. https://www. ft.com/content/3848a4ad-1426-4 352-ba86-ef1279c4ffd1 # Ukraine # Russia
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FT reveals A7's $6.9bn sanctions-evasion scheme
The Financial Times publishes an investigation, based on a leak from inside Russian fintech A7, showing thousands of Russian payments worth $6.9bn were processed by Standard Chartered, Citigroup and other international banking groups using forged documentation.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Financial Times, 1d ago · also FT
and 1 smaller piece