U.S. Treasury Moves to Cut Off Crypto Exchange MEXC Over $16 Billion in Alleged Illicit Flows

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an order on Friday, Nov. 6, that is intended to cut off crypto exchange MEXC Global from the U.S. financial system, citing at least $16 billion in transactions that the agency linked to Iranian, North Korean and Russian sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity. In a Treasury press release, FinCEN said the order, issued as part of Operation Economic Outcast, “prevents U.S. financial institutions from processing funds transfers involving MEXC Global.”

Treasury said MEXC is a convertible virtual currency exchanger founded in 2018 that, as of September 2026, processed more than $1 billion in daily transactions and held about $5 billion in reserves, placing it among the 20 largest such platforms in the world. The agency said the platform offers trading in more than 50 currencies and access to more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. Although MEXC “claims to maintain anti-money laundering (AML) and customer identification and verification policies” and “explicitly prohibits use by or on behalf of individuals in certain jurisdictions, including Iran and North Korea,” Treasury said “severe deficiencies in its AML controls” allowed it to handle transactions for people or entities in those jurisdictions.

What FinCEN alleged

Between May 2021 and May 2026, Treasury said, MEXC facilitated the movement of at least $16 billion connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity. That total included nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion, of which $232 million involved direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the United States, the European Union or the United Kingdom. The department said MEXC was still processing transactions with sanctioned Russian entity Garantex, and its successor Grinex, as recently as June 2026 — more than four years after the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Garantex in April 2022. It also said MEXC facilitated at least $26 million in transactions benefiting the Russia-based, OFAC-sanctioned A7 network and processed almost $200 million connected to the A7A5 stablecoin.

On Iran, Treasury said MEXC had sent or received about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian crypto exchangers between May 2021 and May 2026, and facilitated about $22 million in transactions for the sanctioned Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force. The release’s headline said the exchanger had facilitated illicit finance “including for IRGC-Qods Force.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system,” and that Treasury would “continue to sever the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines.”

How the order works

FinCEN issued the order under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. It prohibits U.S. financial institutions from engaging in any transmittal of funds from or to MEXC Global. Violations “may result in civil or criminal penalties,” Treasury said. The order does not change existing Bank Secrecy Act obligations, including suspicious activity report filings, or sanctions administered by OFAC. It becomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

CoinDesk, in a Nov. 7 report, said MEXC is the largest crypto exchange targeted under Section 9714, a provision that can be used against foreign institutions tied to Russian illicit finance and that Treasury had previously applied to smaller platforms including Bitzlato in 2023 and PM2BTC in 2024. CoinDesk noted that while Treasury presented the action as part of its campaign against Iran, the legal basis formally rests on the alleged Russian activity. The outlet also reported that MEXC last month said it would stop serving users in Russia and Belarus.

In a statement, MEXC said it was aware of the Nov. 6 order “and is reviewing it closely in coordination with our legal and compliance teams.” The exchange said it “is operating normally, and user assets remain secure,” that it intends to “engage constructively with FinCEN” and other authorities, and that it has “begun an independent review of our AML and sanctions controls.” CoinDesk similarly reported that MEXC said it was operating normally while reviewing the order and its controls. The order has not yet taken effect, and Treasury said it would take hold 30 days after Federal Register publication.

Sources: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Nov. 6, 2026; CoinDesk, Nov. 7, 2026; MEXC statement on FinCEN’s November 6 order.