FinCEN's proposal to bar US institutions from moving funds for Russia's A7 network closes for comment Wednesday

The comment period on a US Treasury proposal aimed at Russia's A7 payments network closes this week. FinCEN's notice, filed for Federal Register publication on October 5 under docket FINCEN-2026-0265, would find that certain transmittals involving A7's sub-agents are of "primary money laundering concern" and would bar covered financial institutions from handling them. That would include transfers to or from sub-agent accounts or convertible virtual currency addresses. The notice names six sub-agents and says FinCEN would share a list of known ones through its secure portal, with a process to petition for removal. CoinDesk lists the comment deadline as November 4.

The notice says A7 itself claims historical volume of about $91.5 billion as of January 2026, and puts its sub-agent accounts at roughly 435 financial institutions in at least 83 countries. It says more than 180 entities processed transactions in the A7A5 stablecoin worth at least $179.1 billion from February 2025 to June 2026. The Independent Community Bankers of America said the network uses a ruble-backed stablecoin and that OFAC has sanctioned A7. FinCEN estimates the rule would reach 347,926 covered institutions, most of them money services businesses.