A new investigation reveals the intricate financial network of fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, exposing his role in a sophisticated Russian money laundering and sanctions evasion scheme centered in Kyrgyzstan. Shor, notorious for orchestrating the 2014 $1 billion bank fraud in Moldova known as the “Theft of the Century,” has now emerged as a key figure behind the creation of a Russian ruble-backed cryptocurrency designed to bypass Western sanctions.
In early 2025, Shor launched the stablecoin A7A5 on the Kyrgyz-based crypto exchange Grinex, which has quickly processed over $9 billion in transactions. This stablecoin, pegged to the Russian ruble and backed by funds from the sanctioned Russian defense bank Promsvyazbank, serves as a new financial vehicle for Russia to circumvent international restrictions. Analysts link Grinex as a successor to the now-sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex, with large transfers of assets moving between the two platforms just before Garantex’s shutdown in March 2025.
The scheme extends beyond cryptocurrency. In January 2025, the Kyrgyz Keremet Bank faced U.S. sanctions for its involvement in Shor’s plans to establish a “sanctions evasion center” facilitating Russia’s import and export payments. Following this, the Kyrgyz government centralized ruble transfers through the state-owned Capital Bank of Central Asia, a move critics say aims to monopolize and control cross-border ruble flows, potentially increasing fees and delays while shielding illicit activities.
Shor’s ties to Kyrgyzstan are longstanding. Since 2014, his companies have operated duty-free shops at Kyrgyz airports, in partnership with local political figures. His influence is said to extend into the country’s financial and political spheres, enabling the creation of this new crypto infrastructure under Kyrgyz jurisdiction, a country increasingly recognized as a hub for Russian sanctions evasion.
Despite denials from Grinex about connections to Garantex and Shor, investigations show that transactions on Grinex predominantly occur during Moscow business hours, reinforcing suspicions of Russian operational control. The A7A5 project is also expanding, seeking expertise in China, the UAE, and Russian-occupied Ukraine, indicating a broad regional strategy to solidify this alternative financial ecosystem.
This complex network highlights how Ilan Shor, once a central figure in Moldova’s biggest financial scandal, has reinvented himself as a pivotal operator in Russia’s global sanctions evasion efforts, leveraging Kyrgyzstan’s financial system and emerging crypto technologies to channel billions of dollars beyond Western oversight.
