We keep harping on the Russian (non-)money laundering that the FT uncovered the other day (#1579246)

Billions of dollars of Rosneft’s foreign earnings were funnelled through a Kremlin-backed money-laundering network, putting the state oil group at the heart of Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions and supply its war in Ukraine. A vast leak from inside A7, a Moscow-backed fintech company, shows that Rosneft-connected traders supplied more than $2bn in vital hard currency to the group, which has paid for battlefield supplies and other imports to Russia. The documents expose the inner workings of the A7 payment network, which was founded by fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor with extensive Russian state backing. They also explain how Moscow is able to access the currencies needed to participate in the world economy.

It's like sanctions don't work, I dunno. #1520959. The more I learn about this (#1453638), the more I love money laundering

Rosneft, which was only placed under full US sanctions in October 2025, plays a key role in this process by providing the hard currencies that can be spent by A7 outside the country.  The energy group, Russia’s largest oil producer and exporter, is controlled by the state and led by Igor Sechin, one of the country’s most powerful people and a confidant of Putin.

Rosneft, for instance, has struggled to repatriate its foreign-currency earnings after western sanctions severely restricted most Russian banks’ access to the dollar- and euro-based financial system.

Using forged documents, A7 set up front companies in the names of seemingly unconnected people in other jurisdictions. It then used these entities to make international payments within Swift on behalf of Russian buyers.

Amazing

Obtaining hard currency for international purchases is a major problem for A7, which tasks dozens of staff with hunting for Russian companies willing to sell their export earnings. The Coral companies and the other exporters help solve this by depositing their foreign-currency earnings into the bank accounts of the front entities. In return, they are paid inside Russia, mostly via Promsvyazbank, for the currency with roubles. Each of the 138 dirham transfers from Rosneft-linked oil traders to A7 companies in Dubai was matched by a rouble payment to bank accounts held by Hurus Trade, one of the Coral entities.

"A7 took a creative approach to the documentation supporting the transfers, falsifying paperwork to avoid suspicion. The work, which made up a significant part of A7’s daily operations, was known internally as “legend creation”."

archive: https://archive.li/ut9rf