Ilan Shor told TASS in July that A7 gives companies and countries freedom "because our system is immune to sanctions." [1] Livemint published the Wall Street Journal's Saturday feature. A7, founded less than two years ago with Promsvyazbank, says it handles nearly 20 percent of Russian foreign-trade payments, more than $100 billion a year. Putin appeared by video at a branch opening.

The paper's Saturday feature already treated A7's $100 billion claim as an operating boast, not a completed rail. Shor is a convicted Moldovan fraudster who denies the charge and lives near Moscow. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have sanctioned the network. Researchers say it still moves money through shells in Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong, and the UAE, and through a ruble-pegged token swapped into Tether.

Immunity is a marketing claim. Saturday's completed record is the quote, the $100 billion figure, and a sanctioned founder selling freedom. A roly-poly toy at the St. Petersburg forum is not Swift.

A7 opened offices in Nigeria and Zimbabwe and says it is looking at Latin America and the Middle East. [1] Sixty-five percent of its volume, in a 2025 presentation, was in yuan. Digital billboards in Moscow advertise low rates for sending money abroad. The U.S., U.K., and EU have sanctioned the network. A July TASS interview is still a boast on a Saturday feature page.

-- KATYA VOLKOV, Moscow