According to a recent Financial Times report, the A7A5 stablecoin is reportedly linked to several entities already targeted by U.S. sanctions, including crypto exchanges Grinex and Garantex, as well as Russia’s state-backed Promsvyazbank.
A7A5 reissued following Grinex sanctions
In August, U.S. authorities sanctioned Grinex, viewing it as a successor to the previously blacklisted Garantex, which had been linked to illicit activities such as hacking, terrorism financing, and drug trafficking. Garantex had first been sanctioned in March 2022 as part of Washington’s broader crackdown on Russian financial networks after the Ukraine invasion.
Blockchain data analyzed by the Financial Times revealed that over 80% of A7A5’s total supply was destroyed and then re-minted shortly after the new sanctions hit wallets connected to Grinex. Using a smart contract function called “destroyBlackFunds,” the tokens were marked as “dirtyShares” and removed from circulation, effectively resetting affected wallet balances to zero.
The report claims this move was intended to “wipe the slate clean,” erasing prior transactional history before the same tokens were re-minted in new addresses labeled ‘TNpJj.’
Unlike typical token transfers, which leave a visible on-chain trail linking the sender and recipient, this method effectively severs that connection, making it significantly harder to track fund movements or link them to sanctioned entities. Since then, over $6.1 billion in A7A5 transactions have reportedly flowed through the new TNpJj wallet.
Grinex, a Kyrgyzstan-based exchange, has denied any ties to Garantex, though prior investigations revealed multiple on-chain connections suggesting a close relationship. In March, Swiss blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger identified large A7A5 transfers to Grinex shortly after Garantex went offline. The Financial Times also cited an unnamed Grinex staffer who reportedly admitted that Garantex clients physically visited Grinex offices to transfer funds between the two platforms.
Garantex officially shut down in March following Tether’s freezing of roughly 2.5 billion USDT tied to the exchange.
“Creating the new wallet indicates that A7A5’s operators, active on Tron and Ethereum blockchains, learned from Garantex’s takedown,” the report said.
Links to sanctioned entities
Transaction patterns on the TNpJj wallet closely mirrored earlier sanctioned Grinex accounts, involving similar counterparties and trading hours. A7A5 is registered in Kyrgyzstan under a company called Old Vector, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in August for its role in issuing and managing the stablecoin.
Recently, Russian authorities granted A7A5 formal digital financial asset status, effectively legitimizing its use for trade settlements. The stablecoin can now be used by exporters and importers via a platform owned by Promsvyazbank, which backs each token with rubles held in reserve. The state-owned bank, already under Western sanctions, also holds a 49% stake in the A7 cross-border payments network, which helped develop A7A5 in its early stages.
Despite these allegations, A7A5 developers have emphasized the project’s independence and transparency. Executive Oleg Ogienko told media that A7A5 operates legally under Kyrgyzstan’s regulatory framework and is not involved in illicit activities.
Ogienko’s comments followed TOKEN2049, a major crypto event in Singapore, removing all references to A7A5 from its website and speaker list after media inquiries about sanctions. Ogienko had been scheduled to speak but was quietly removed from the agenda after confirming that A7A5 had indeed been targeted by Western sanctions.
