Three senior officials from Russia joined the board of the payment company A7, with a trading volume of approximately 140 billion US dollars for its ruble stablecoin A7A5

According to a report by Reuters, the Russian government press office announced that Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov have joined the board of directors of the Russian payment company A7. In the context of Western sanctions affecting traditional banking channels, A7's role in maintaining trade relations between Russia and partners such as China is expanding.

A7 was established in 2024 by the Russian bank PSB, which primarily serves the defense sector, to provide cross-border transaction settlement services for Russian enterprises. Due to Western sanctions, traditional banks have difficulty processing many payments related to Russia, especially trade payments with Russia's largest trading partner, China. A7 estimates that currently, up to 80% of Russia's foreign trade payments are completed through alternative channels.

A7 has been subjected to multiple Western sanctions. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on it on October 1, stating that it has established a global network of affiliated companies that "disguises payments related to sanctioned industries and individuals as ordinary business activities." A7 uses the ruble stablecoin A7A5 for settlements. This token was launched in 2025 in Kyrgyzstan and is backed by ruble deposits held at PSB Bank. According to PSB's estimates, the cumulative transaction volume of A7A5 has reached approximately $14 billion.