Leaked Documents Reveal $8 Billion Crypto Pipeline for Sanctions Evasion and Political Manipulation
A massive leak of internal documents from A7, a firm tied to sanctioned Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, exposes a sophisticated $8 billion crypto network designed to evade sanctions and influence Moldovan politics. The files reveal how stablecoins became the lifeblood of cross-border payments, with ties to Russia's Promsvyazbank and a ruble-backed stablecoin (A7A5) built specifically for sanctions bypass.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic identified crypto wallets processing $8 billion in stablecoin transactions over 18 months, tracing funds from Russian entities to Moldovan political operations during parliamentary elections. Shor's pivot to crypto emerged as a necessity after his 2017 conviction for involvement in a $1 billion Moldovan bank theft.
