BPI Comments on FinCEN’s Proposed Special Measure Against A7 Network Sub-Agents

Ladies and Gentlemen:

BPI^[1] and its members support the U.S. Government's efforts to cut off the A7 Network's access to the U.S. financial system. When FinCEN issued its Proposal,^[2] OFAC also designated the A7 Network as a significant transnational criminal organization,^[3] and Treasury published an accompanying Press Release that could be read to suggest that U.S. persons should treat any person identified by FinCEN as a Sub-Agent as blocked under OFAC's regulations. If so, the prohibitions in OFAC's regulations would seem to overlap with, and potentially displace, FinCEN's proposed restrictions. Most of the compliance questions the Proposal leaves open, in particular those that focus on how banks should implement FinCEN's order, would be answered instead by the existing OFAC framework.

BPI thus urges Treasury to address the Sub-Agents through OFAC's existing designation framework, by adding the Sub-Agents to OFAC's public SDN List with full identifying information, rather than through a separate mechanism administered by FinCEN. Doing so will ease implementation of the measures and immediately implicate the global apparatus that exists to deny access to the financial system to persons designated by OFAC, instead of introducing additional and unnecessary ambiguity and costs to financial institutions. If FinCEN nonetheless proceeds with the measures contemplated in the Proposal, we request the Sub-Agent list still be made public and that OFAC and FinCEN clearly indicate when Sub-Agents are considered blocked persons under OFAC's regulations, and when instead they should be subject to prohibitions on transmissions of funds pursuant to FinCEN's Proposal.

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[1] The Bank Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group that represents universal banks, regional banks, and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States. BPI produces academic research and analysis on regulatory and monetary policy topics, analyzes and comments on proposed regulations, and represents the financial services industry with respect to cybersecurity, fraud, and other information security issues.

[2] Proposal of Special Measure Prohibiting the Transmittal of Funds Regarding Transactions Involving the A7 Network's Sub-Agents, 91 Fed. Reg. 63,208 (proposed Oct. 5, 2026) (to be codified at 31 C.F.R. pt. 1010) (the "Proposal").

[3] Press Release, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury, Operation Economic Outcast Takes Unprecedented Action Against Sanctions Evasion Network Used by Iran (Oct. 1, 2026), https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0644 (the "Press Release"); see also Proposal, 91 Fed. Reg. at 63,209 n.1 (noting OFAC's designation of the A7 Network pursuant to Executive Order 13581, as amended by Executive Order 13863).