FinCEN recently issued an Alert (FIN-2026-Alert007) regarding suspicious activity associated with the A7 Network. Essentially, …the A7 Network provides a financial services infrastructure for customers in Russia and other heavily sanctioned jurisdictions, such as Iran, which enables them to make cross-border payments in both fiat currency and digital assets while obscuring the sanctions nexus from U.S. and foreign financial institutions. Its global ambitions and self-described role as a sanctions-resistant payment service provider have made it a conduit for illicit activity associated with a wide range of threat actors, including North Korea (DPRK); Iran-backed terrorist organizations; cybercriminals and ransomware actors; and the IRGC (aka Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).
The Alert provides an in-depth analysis of how the A7 Network operates as well as 17 red flag indicators to help financial institutions to detect, prevent and report such activity. FinCEN requests that financial institutions reference this Alert in SAR field 2 (“Filing Institution Note to FinCEN”) and the narrative by including the key term “FIN-2026-A7NETWORK”.
Published 2026/10/07