The UK government and the National Crime Agency issued the first nationwide industry alert against the Russia-linked A7 network on 31 August 2026, according to a press release dated that day. The alert describes how the network has used third-country financial institutions and the international financial system to complete cross-border transactions and circumvent sanctions. A7, which the release says has also been linked to Iranian state-associated actors, claims to have settled more than $86 billion of transactions in its first year of operating.

The Chancellor also said the maximum fine available to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation would double from 50% to 100% of the value of a sanctions breach. The release said the Chancellor used his first international meetings, at the G20 in North Carolina, to press allies for closer cooperation.

Rachael Herbert, director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, cited last year’s Operation Destabilise against a Russian-speaking money laundering network and said the alert would keep the financial sector aware of evasion methods. The release said the UK had imposed sanctions on more than 500 individuals, entities and ships under the Russia regime this year.