$800 million for skirt sanctions using USDT on Russian-linked Crypto Wallet Channel Tether

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A network of crypto wallets associated with entities related to Russian states helped move more than $8 billion in digital assets to avoid Western sanctions, according to a September 26 report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.

The findings reveal that licensed Russian companies, drawn from a pack of recently leaked data, rely primarily on tether USDTs to maintain cross-border trade.

The oval tracked many of these transactions to companies managed by Iranian Shoal, a fugitive and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shor, who remains under US sanctions, reportedly used digital assets to maintain the financial lifeline of Russian entities, which are restricted from the global banking system.

In early September, Shoal told Putin at an online meeting that his company, A7, had promoted 7.5 trillion rubles ($89 billion) in international payments over 10 months. Elliptic data confirmed that wallets tied to the A7 have received more than $8 billion in Stablecoin inflows over the past 18 months.

Founded in 2024, the A7 is designed to help Russian businesses avoid sanctions and implement cross-border settlements. The company is 49% owned by Promsvyazbank (PSB), a Russian state bank that serves the defense sector.

The PSB and A7 remain under US sanctions due to their ties to the war economy.

Shift to Ruble-backed Stablecoin

According to Elliptic, the leaked internal message revealed that A7 relies heavily on USDT for financial operations and payments.

In one example, A7 employees requested a relocation of USD 2 million and published a wallet that processed a transaction of approximately $677 million.

But when regulators closed Garantex, a Russian-based exchange, and frozen $26 million worth of USDT, Tether’s ability to freeze a licensed wallet earlier this year became responsible.

As a result, Shor’s network reportedly reviewed its wallet infrastructure in August 2025. The company has begun to promote its own Ruble page Stablecoin, A7A5, as a workaround for centralized control of tethers.

However, the effort has not made any substantial progress as it has only had a supply of digital assets of $496 million and has processed an estimated $68 billion in transactions.