Confidential documents reveal the existence of a vast crypto network linked to Moscow. Nearly $ 8 billion would have circulated via Stablecoins to bypass Western sanctions and finance political operations in Moldova. A leak that highlights the rise of crypto as a tool for influence and new weapon of hybrid war.
In short
- Disclosed files exhibit the A7 network, linked to the Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, which would have orchestrated $ 8 billion in crypto transactions in 18 months.
- The system is based on a stablecoin indexed to the ruble, the A7A5, designed to escape Western controls and replace Tether.
- The funds would have been used to finance political influence operations in Moldova via mobile applications and direct payments to activists.
- The Russian bank Promsvyazbank, already punished, would hold almost half of the A7 network, according to the analysis of the Elliptic company.
A financial circuit parallel to the service of Moscow
The analysis of the Elliptic company highlights a particularly sophisticated device. The A7 network would operate as a provider of “bypassing sanctions”, by facilitating funds for Russian actors to access the international banking system.
According to documents, Promsvyazbank, a state bank already sanctioned for its role in financing the Russian military sector, controls almost half of this structure.
The leaks also reveal the creation of a stablecoin leaning against the ruble, called A7A5 and recorded in Kyrgyzistan. Its objective remains clear: to reduce dependence on American stablecoins like the USDT, which Washington can block at any time. To strengthen its liquidity, network managers injected several million dollars as a tether into this new digital asset.
The course of the funds reflects a well -established strategy. The actors involved make money pass through Kyrgyz companies, then distribute it between traditional financial instruments and cryptos.
Among the beneficiaries cited, we find Maria Albot, former Moldovan Political Manager sanctioned by the European Union, who would have requested significant transfers in USDT to an identified portfolio.
This financial architecture is not by chance: it is part of a larger Moscow strategy aimed at reducing its dependence on Western canals. In this logic, Russia even plans to create a state cryptocurrency, inspired by the Belarusian model, in order to supervise mining and legalize certain flows related to digital assets.
When crypto finances electoral interference
L'Elliptic analysis highlights worrying links between these financial flows and political interference operations. According to documents, the Taito application would have been used to remunerate local militants directly in Moldova.
At the same time, call centers were used to organize illegal surveys, while a TELEGRAM bot distributed payments after simple identity checks, without real control.
These revelations arrive at a particularly sensitive moment: the publication of the leak coincided with the approach of the Moldovan legislative elections. If these accusations are confirmed, they highlight a new facet of modern hybrid war, where digital money becomes a direct tool for political influence and even the purchase of votes.
Caution, however, remains in order. The allocation of blockchain transactions has an inevitable margin of uncertainty. The 8 billion dollars identified are based on the combination of portfolio addresses with specific entities, a technique widely used in forest analysis, but never infallible. As for the exact role of the Kremlin, its degree of direct control over each operation remains difficult to establish with certainty.
For Western regulators, these elements nevertheless represent a concrete opportunity. The now identified portfolio addresses constitute new surveillance targets. They allow authorities to freeze or sanction these infrastructure with increased precision.
Beyond the Moldovan case, this affair illustrates a broader reality: the crypto gradually redefines geopolitical power relations. By building their own digital financial rails, the sanctioned states gradually emancipated from the control exercised by the traditional Western channels.
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