Key Notes
- Treasury says MEXC facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions from May 2021 through May 2026.
- FinCEN’s order bars covered US financial institutions from transfers to or from the exchange, including cryptocurrency transfers.
- The restriction takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication and has no stated expiration date.
The US Treasury has ordered a cutoff of crypto exchange MEXC Global from the American financial system, saying the platform facilitated at least $16 billion in transactions connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity.
The Treasury announcement on November 6 linked the activity to Iran, North Korea and Russia. Its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued an order prohibiting covered US financial institutions from sending or receiving funds to or from MEXC Global. The restriction takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
What the Transfer Restriction Covers
FinCEN used section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act after finding MEXC Global to be a financial institution of primary money-laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance.
The published order defines funds transfers to include convertible virtual currency. Its definition of MEXC Global covers the Seychelles-based exchange’s branches, subsidiaries and offices operating outside the United States, along with successor entities.
The measure also leaves existing Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements and OFAC sanctions obligations in place. Willful violations can expose covered institutions and their officers, directors, employees or agents to civil or criminal penalties.
The order sets no expiration date and reserves FinCEN’s authority to grant exemptions. Its effective-date provision is tied to Federal Register publication, rather than the date of Treasury’s press release.
Russian and Iranian Transactions Under Scrutiny
Treasury’s $16 billion assessment covers May 2021 through May 2026. Within that activity, the department identified nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the United States, European Union and United Kingdom.
The department said MEXC was still processing transactions involving Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026. Garantex was first sanctioned by OFAC in April 2022.
Treasury also cited almost $200 million in transactions connected to A7A5, a stablecoin it describes as a tool used by the A7 network to help clients evade sanctions.
On Iran, the department identified approximately $1 billion in direct transfers with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchangers, some of which are sanctioned. It separately cited about $22 million associated with Iran’s central bank, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force.
North Korea and Cybercrime Also Feature
The order provides a North Korean example: FinCEN assessed that MEXC facilitated sanctioned money launderer Sim Hyon Sop’s receipt of approximately $350,000 between June and September 2025, more than two years after his OFAC designation.
FinCEN also assessed that at least $1.99 billion moved through MEXC to or from illicit cyber actors during the five-year review period. The document describes exposure to ransomware, scam proceeds, stolen funds and darknet markets.
Treasury said MEXC’s stated anti-money-laundering policies and restrictions on users in Iran and North Korea were undermined by serious deficiencies in its controls.
A Major Exchange Faces Further Restrictions
Treasury described MEXC as one of the world’s 20 largest crypto exchangers, processing more than $1 billion in daily transactions and holding roughly $5 billion in reserves as of September 2026. Those figures are the department’s dated assessment.
The action adds to MEXC’s regulatory pressures. South Korean authorities included it among 27 unregistered operators covered by website restrictions announced in October. The new US order reaches a different part of its business: access to transfers through covered American financial institutions.
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