Treasury moves to cut MEXC off from US system, citing $16B in illicit-linked flows
In brief
- FinCEN ordered US financial institutions to stop processing funds transfers to or from MEXC.
- MEXC processed at least $16 billion in illicit-finance-linked transactions from May 2021 to May 2026, Treasury said.
- Russian, Iranian and North Korean sanctions evasion, including Garantex and Grinex flows, feature in Treasury's findings.
- FinCEN's order takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
What Treasury says it found
According to Treasury, MEXC processed at least $16 billion in transactions associated with illicit finance between May 2021 and May 2026. That figure includes nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion and $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, European Union and United Kingdom.
FinCEN said the exchange facilitated transactions connected to Iranian, Russian and North Korean sanctions evasion, plus cybercrime. Treasury said MEXC kept processing transactions involving Garantex (the Russian exchange sanctioned in April 2022) and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026. It also cited at least $26 million benefiting the sanctioned A7 network and nearly $200 million connected to the A7A5 stablecoin.
Iran gets its own set of numbers. Treasury said MEXC sent or received about $1 billion in direct transfers involving more than 40 Iranian crypto exchanges (some of them under international sanctions), and it identified roughly $22 million in transactions benefiting Iran's central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Qods Force.
FinCEN said MEXC's own policies prohibited activity involving sanctioned jurisdictions, but deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls let those transactions continue anyway.
How the order works
The order was issued under Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. It's not in force yet. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and financial institutions that violate the restrictions could face civil or criminal penalties, according to Treasury.
The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a Treasury campaign launched in August that targets financial networks supporting Iran and its sanctions evasion.
MEXC's scale
MEXC isn't a small venue. As of September, Treasury said, the exchange processed more than $1 billion in daily trading volume and held about $5 billion in reserves. It offered access to more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets.
Crypto Briefing's report didn't include a response from MEXC.
Frequently asked questions
What does the FinCEN order against MEXC do?
The order bars US financial institutions from processing funds transfers to or from MEXC, which Treasury described as effectively cutting the exchange off from the US financial system. Institutions that violate the restrictions could face civil or criminal penalties.
When does the MEXC order take effect?
The order was issued under Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, so it isn't in force immediately.
Why did Treasury target MEXC?
Treasury said MEXC processed at least $16 billion in transactions linked to illicit finance between May 2021 and May 2026. FinCEN found the exchange facilitated Iranian, Russian and North Korean sanctions evasion and cybercrime, and said weak anti-money laundering controls let prohibited transactions continue.
