Russia-backed payments platform A7 plans to create the country’s largest “gold bank,” aiming to boost domestic gold ownership and potentially expand the use of gold-linked digital assets in cross-border transactions, Reuters cited company executives as saying Tuesday.
The project, launched jointly with Russia’s Finance Ministry, comes amid Moscow’s broader push to create alternative financial infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign currencies and Western-dominated financial systems after sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
A7 Deputy Chief Executive Irina Akopyan said the company plans to build the gold bank around a newly established state-backed entity called Rosveksel.
“Creating Rosveksel is a strategic step for A7 Group’s expansion into the retail segment,” Akopyan said at a presentation of the project, according to Reuters.
A7, a cross-border payments platform created by defense lender Promsvyazbank, is 51%-owned by Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in Moldova to 15 years in prison for money laundering following an appeal in a high-profile banking scandal.
