Russia is expanding its tools to circumvent international sanctions by moving part of its financial operations into crypto payment channels through African countries. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, writes UNN.
Moscow is promoting the A7 platform in Nigeria and Zimbabwe as an alternative mechanism for external payments. This involves settlements through stablecoins and debt instruments. These are more difficult to track and block, unlike classical transactions.
The agency notes that the platform may be connected to the sanctioned Promsvyazbank, as well as to the Moldovan politician Ilan Shor, who is linked to Russia. This indicates that it can be used not only to simplify payments, but also to circumvent sanctions and withdraw financial operations from international control.
After being disconnected from the SWIFT system and increased sanctions from the United States, Russia is systematically looking for alternative financial routes. Africa has become one of the key directions due to the active growth of crypto payments, the demand for cheap transfers, and weaker control over cross-border operations.
The Center emphasizes that the development of financial technologies creates new challenges for sanctions policy, as it allows bypassing traditional control mechanisms. In this regard, it is necessary to strengthen international oversight to maintain the effectiveness of economic pressure on Russia.