FinCEN Cuts MEXC Off From U.S. Financial System Over Alleged $16 Billion in Illicit Flows

The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a final order Friday that will cut offshore exchange MEXC Global off from the American banking system over alleged links to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia. Thirty days after Federal Register publication, covered U.S. financial institutions will be barred from any funds transfer, including convertible virtual currency, to or from MEXC.

What the order does

The order, signed by FinCEN Deputy Director Jimmy L. Kirby, covers MEXC Global and named affiliates operating outside the United States, including Seychelles-based MEXC Global Ltd / MX Global Ltd, Estonia’s MEXC Estonia OÜ, Switzerland’s GIDA Technology AG and the U.K.’s MXC Global Ltd. Covered institutions face civil or criminal penalties for willful violations. Treasury framed the move as part of Operation Economic Outcast. It is not an OFAC sanctions designation: the order says it does not rewrite Bank Secrecy Act duties or OFAC rules, and it is a FinCEN funds-transmittal ban rather than a Section 311 proposed rulemaking. Until the Federal Register publishes the notice, the 30-day clock has not started; as of Friday evening eastern time the Register’s public index still showed no MEXC document, matching the order’s own cover note that publication is pending.

Alleged illicit flows

Treasury alleges MEXC facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit flows from May 2021 through May 2026, including nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion and about $22 million linked to Iran’s Central Bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force. The platform was still processing trades with sanctioned Garantex and successor Grinex as recently as June 2026, more than four years after OFAC designated Garantex. Beyond Russia, FinCEN cites about $1 billion in direct traffic with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchangers, nearly $26 million with the OFAC-sanctioned A7 sanctions-evasion network, and almost $200 million tied to the A7A5 stablecoin. DPRK facilitators and cybercrime flows are also alleged.

Background and implications

Founded in 2018 and formerly branded MXC, MEXC ranks among the world’s 20 largest centralized crypto venues by volume. Treasury puts daily turnover above $1 billion and reserves near $5 billion as of mid-2026. The exchange already lists the United States as a prohibited jurisdiction, so the action mainly hits remaining dollar rails, banking partners and counterparties touching U.S. institutions. Regulators in the U.K., Hong Kong and Seychelles have also warned or acted against MEXC entities. Once the order bites, U.S. covered firms cannot move dollars or crypto to MEXC wallets or accounts; offshore users may keep trading peer-to-peer, but dollar on-ramps and clearing banks become legal risk. Whether MEXC contests the finding, seeks an exemption, or reroutes liquidity remains open.

Sources: Bitcoin Magazine · Fincen · Techmeme