A Russian-backed financial network accused of moving at least $6.9bn through international banks using front companies and forged documents expanded its operations into Nigeria and Zimbabwe last year, according to an investigation by the Financial Times .
The network, known as A7, opened public-facing offices in Lagos and Harare in September 2025 as part of its expansion into Africa. However, the extent of its financial operations in the two countries remains unclear.
The FT investigation, based on hundreds of thousands of leaked internal files, found that A7 used companies and bank accounts across several jurisdictions to help Russian businesses move funds through the international banking system despite Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A7 was established in late 2024 by sanctioned Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, with backing from Russia’s state-owned Promsvyazbank, which has links to the country’s defence industry.
According to the FT, entities linked to the network moved at least $6.9bn through international banks.
Accounts at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong received $1.1bn from A7-linked entities between late 2024 and August 2025, while First Abu Dhabi Bank processed more than $1.8bn in outbound payments from 17 entities linked to the network.
The investigation found that A7 allegedly used front companies in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Kyrgyzstan to gain access to banks connected to the SWIFT payment system.
When banks raised questions about transactions, A7 staff allegedly supplied counterfeit invoices and other documents designed to make the payments appear legitimate.
The FT reported that transaction descriptions, customs codes and other details were altered to avoid triggering sanctions checks. In one case, documents relating to the purchase of 500 night-vision scopes for a Russian client were allegedly disguised as transactions involving other goods.
The network also sought to remove what employees described as the “Russian trace” from documents, including by eliminating Cyrillic characters.
Some of the funds eventually flowed to Chinese bank accounts, while A7 also used Tether, a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency, to facilitate transactions.
A7’s African expansion was publicly announced in September 2025, with its Lagos and Harare offices reportedly opened by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov and Promsvyazbank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Dorofeev.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said Nigeria and Zimbabwe had “already joined” the A7 platform.
In Nigeria, an investigation by the Centre for Information Resilience identified local partner Pilot Finance as linked to A7’s operations. It also identified companies registered in Kyrgyzstan as A7 Africa and A7 Nigeria, with Nigerian businessman Chidiebere Emmanuel Ajaere listed as their owner.
In Zimbabwe, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was photographed at the opening of the A7 office alongside Chebeskov and Russia’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Nikolai Krasilnikov.
Russian media reported that Nigeria’s Finance Minister Wale Edun attended the opening of the Lagos office, but Edun told media that he did not attend, according to the Centre for Information Resilience.
The investigation did not establish that the $6.9bn moved through international banks was specifically routed through Nigeria or Zimbabwe.
The African offices instead point to A7’s expanding presence on the continent, while the scale of its operations in both countries remains unclear.
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