- Treasury alleges at least $16 billion in transactions tied to illicit activity.
- The transfer ban takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
- MEXC says services remain operational and an independent compliance review has begun.
MEXC Global faces exclusion from the U.S. financial system after Treasury alleged it facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions. FinCEN issued the order on November 6, citing sanctions evasion involving Iran, North Korea and Russia. The restriction targets transfers through covered U.S. financial institutions and takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
MEXC Global Faces Transfer Restrictions Under FinCEN Order
FinCEN designated the exchange a primary money laundering concern connected to Russian illicit finance. The enforcement order cites Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act.
Once effective, covered institutions cannot process funds transfers to or from MEXC Global. Violations may carry civil or criminal penalties, while existing reporting and sanctions obligations remain in place.
The measure restricts financial access; it does not itself announce a blanket freeze of every customer account. Treasury separately sanctioned eight Canadian money services businesses over alleged Iranian links.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said firms supporting Iranian sanctions evasion should lose access to the American financial system. The department presented the exchange action as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
MEXC Global Accused of Weak Controls and Sanctions Exposure
Treasury’s headline estimate covers activity between May 2021 and May 2026. Officials said the exchange’s stated customer checks and country restrictions failed to prevent dealings involving prohibited jurisdictions.
According to Treasury’s findings, MEXC Global processed nearly $1.5 billion in transactions linked to Russian sanctions evasion. That included $232 million in direct transfers involving entities sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The department also identified approximately $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchanges. It attributed another $22 million to transactions involving Iran’s central bank, the Revolutionary Guard and its Qods Force.
These figures describe Treasury’s enforcement findings, rather than a criminal conviction announced in the release. The order imposes no scheduled end date on the transfer restriction.
In an archived statement acknowledging the order, the exchange said deposits, withdrawals, and trading continued normally. It also said an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls had begun.
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