Bennet Leads Colleagues to Demand Trump Administration Crack Down on Russian Crypto Sanctions Evasion Network

Jul 30, 2026 | Press Releases

Washington, DC - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Finance Committee, led seven colleagues in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent urging the Trump Administration to crack down on A7 LLC, a Russian state-backed cryptocurrency sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's unprovoked full-scale war against Ukraine. Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I), Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Me.), Chris Van Hollen (D-M.D.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) signed the letter.

"We write to urge the Trump Administration to immediately investigate and address Russia's ongoing, widespread evasion of U.S. and allied sanctions through the A7 LLC (A7) network. Doing so is crucial to limit the revenue Russian President Vladimir Putin has available to wage his unjustified war against Ukraine, threaten our NATO allies, and help Iran target U.S. troops, according to public reporting," began the senators.

The Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank and a Moldovan oligarch convicted of stealing from Moldova's banking system launched A7 in late 2024. The revenue Moscow accrues through the A7 network - with the A7A5 stablecoin as its backbone - directly supports the Russian military-industrial complex and thus Putin's war on Ukraine. Even after the United States imposed sanctions on a small number of A7 entities in 2025, the network openly claimed to have over 30 shell companies enabling around 1,500 daily transactions with over 10,000 customers. As of January 2026, the A7A5 stablecoin had reportedly processed over $100 billion in transactions, accounting for nearly 19 percent of the total volume of Russian businesses' foreign trade operations.

"Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has largely stood by and watched the growth of this large-scale evasion enterprise. Under previous administrations, the Departments of State and Treasury went beyond targeting Russia's attempts to establish new evasion pathways by publicly and privately warning third countries to turn away such efforts. […] In contrast, the Trump Administration has not used its Russia sanctions authority or even, it seems, warned countries to root out A7," wrote the senators.

Accordingly, Bennet's letter urges the Department of the Treasury to:

• Identify remaining unsanctioned entities involved in the A7 network and A7A5 ecosystem;
• Impose sanctions on third-country entities facilitating the A7 network;
• Engage partner nations to better counter A7;
• Identify G7 financial institutions' vulnerabilities to A7;
• Target A7A5 developers and facilitators helping Russia purchase missile components despite G7 sanctions;
• Explain how the Trump Administration will prevent decentralized exchanges from facilitating U.S. users from trading in A7A5; and
• Support anti-money laundering requirements for business behind decentralized trading platforms and for "front end" users for interfaces for centralized platforms.

Bennet has fought relentlessly to impose more pressure on Putin to end his unjust war of aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier this July, Bennet joined a bipartisan group of over 60 colleagues to introduce legislation, a version of which Bennet has supported for over a year, to hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. Bennet also co-sponsors the bipartisan SHADOW Fleets Act and DROP Act to impose sanctions on specific Russian oil ships and entities trading in Russian oil, respectively. In May 2026, Bennet led 14 Senate colleagues to urge Secretary Bessent to fully resume sanctions on Russian oil and use every available tool to cut into the windfall profits Russia continues to earn from the elevated energy prices stemming from President Trump's unauthorized war with Iran.

Earlier this year, Bennet wrote an op-ed in EURACTIV urging the United States and like-minded allies to form a coalition to cooperatively and immediately wield Russian sovereign assets on Ukraine's behalf. In December 2025, Bennet led a bipartisan letter to Belgian Ambassador to the U.S., Frédéric Bernard, expressing support for European Commission efforts to leverage Russian sovereign assets to finance a loan for Ukraine. Bennet also co-sponsors bipartisan legislation to repurpose frozen Russian sovereign assets held in the United States to support Ukraine. This would build on the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which Bennet co-sponsored and which President Joe Biden signed into law in April 2024.

Additionally, Bennet leads legislation in the Senate defense and intelligence bills, both of which have passed their respective committees, to bolster drone and intelligence cooperation with Ukraine.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Secretary Bessent:

We write to urge the Trump Administration to immediately investigate and address Russia's ongoing, widespread evasion of U.S. and allied sanctions through the A7 LLC (A7) network. Doing so is crucial to limit Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to acquire key technology and revenue to wage his unjustified war against Ukraine, threaten our NATO allies, and help Iran target U.S. troops, according to public reporting.

Many of us have warned for over a year that the administration's halt in the imposition of regular counter evasion sanctions allows Russia to evade restrictions meant to impede Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine. One clear example is Moscow's development of A7, a state-enabled cryptocurrency financial system that circumvents standard international payment networks, allowing Russia and shell companies to bypass G7 sanctions.

The Russian state-owned bank Promsvyazbank and Ilan Șor, a Moldovan oligarch convicted of stealing from Moldova's banking system, launched A7 in late 2024. The imports and revenue Russia accrues through the A7 network directly support the Russian military-industrial complex and thus Putin's war on Ukraine. A7 appears to maintain deep ties to Putin and the Kremlin: In September 2025, Putin attended a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of A7's Vladivostok branch.

The A7A5 stablecoin, launched in 2025, appears to be the A7 network's backbone. The Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin enables financial activities that would otherwise be difficult following a range of sanctions that G7 partners have implemented since 2022. As of January 2026, the A7A5 stablecoin had reportedly processed over $100 billion in transactions in less than a year.

In December 2025, A7 claimed to have accounted for nearly 19 percent of the total volume of foreign trade operations of Russian businesses. While the A7A5 stablecoin claims independence from A7, as of February 2026 the stablecoin continued to advertise A7's imitation banknotes (issued by A7 Kyrgyzstan) on its site and directs prospective buyers to A7 Russia offices.

Even after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on a small number of A7 entities in August 2025, the network has openly claimed to have over 30 shell companies enabling around 1,500 daily transactions with over 10,000 customers. Many of these companies operate in "secrecy jurisdictions," which, through complex legal structures, make tracing difficult. Reports indicate that the United Arab Emirates hosts several shell companies, and that Hong Kong hosts at least one suspected shell company.

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has largely stood by and watched the growth of this large-scale evasion enterprise. Under previous administrations, the Departments of State and Treasury went beyond targeting Russia's attempts to establish new evasion pathways by publicly and privately warning third countries to turn away such efforts. The Departments also issued alerts underscoring the sanctions risk for foreign financial institutions that chose to join Russia's System for Transfer of Financial Messages, and for countries considering allowing the opening of new branches or subsidiaries of Russian banks.

In contrast, the Trump Administration has not used its Russia sanctions authority or even, it seems, warned countries to root out A7. The administration's lone August 2025 sanctions rollout - in which Treasury refrained from using its Russia sanctions authority, making no effort to emphasize A7's Kremlin ties - targeted a handful of entities, fell short of what allies and partners have done even last year, and has clearly been insufficient to address A7's operations. There remain numerous undesignated global affiliates and A7 enablers that the administration has not sanctioned. We also note that this is only one of the alternative payment mechanisms Russia appears to have set up to acquire critical items for its war, without any administration pushback.

Our allies are again pushing forward without us. The European Union (EU) has banned A7A5, and the EU's 20th sanctions package focused on entities that distribute tokens such as A7A5, such as exchanges and decentralized platforms that list them, and payment agents that settle the underlying trade.

President Trump and his administration must similarly employ our considerable financial tools to cut into Russia's evasion mechanisms. Accordingly, we urge you to:

1. Identify all remaining unsanctioned individuals and legal entities involved in the A7 network ecosystem and A7A5 stablecoin project, including but not limited to the aforementioned shell companies;
2. Impose sanctions on entities in third-country jurisdictions facilitating the A7 network;
3. Engage third-country governments to more effectively coordinate action to counter A7, and consider sanctions if they do not comply with existing and future sanctions;
4. Identify any pathways by which A7 may exploit financial institutions in G7 countries including the United States;
5. Target the developers and facilitators of the A7A5 stablecoin who continue to provide services enabling Russia to purchase missile components despite G7 sanctions;
6. Explain how you will prevent decentralized exchanges from facilitating trades by U.S. users in A7A5, including "wrapped" versions of A7A5; and
7. Support basic anti-money laundering requirements for businesses behind decentralized trading platforms and for "front end" user interfaces for decentralized platforms, which would make it much harder to, for example, swap A7A5 into other currencies without detection.

We respectfully request that you inform our offices, in writing, of your actions on these seven items by August 21, 2026. We request an unclassified summary with a classified annex, if necessary.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We stand ready to work with you in a bipartisan manner to address these important issues.

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