FinCEN orders U.S. transfer ban involving MEXC over $16B

On Nov. 6, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order to cut MEXC Global off from U.S. financial institutions, alleging the exchange handled at least $16 billion in illicit transactions from May 2021 to May 2026. According to Treasury’s announcement, the flows were connected to sanctions evasion involving Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as cybercrime and other illicit activity.

The order turns those allegations into a U.S. payments restriction: once effective, financial institutions in the country cannot transmit funds to or from MEXC.

What transfers does the order prohibit?

FinCEN’s order prohibits U.S. financial institutions from engaging in any transmittal of funds from or to MEXC Global. The order was issued under Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, which Treasury invoked after identifying MEXC as a primary money-laundering concern connected to Russian illicit finance. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, so the Nov. 6 announcement alone does not set the start date.

The restriction is on transfers involving the exchange through U.S. financial institutions; Treasury’s announcement does not describe it as a global shutdown of MEXC or a freeze of customer balances. It also says the order leaves existing Bank Secrecy Act obligations, including suspicious activity reporting, and sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control unchanged. Violations may bring civil or criminal penalties.

What transactions did Treasury cite?

Treasury’s headline figure covers funds it says were connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity. It separately identified nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the United States, European Union or United Kingdom. FinCEN said MEXC was still processing transactions with Russia-based Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026.

The agency also cited at least $26 million in transactions benefiting the OFAC-sanctioned A7 network and nearly $200 million connected to the A7A5 stablecoin, which Treasury described as a store of value used by the network to help clients evade sanctions. These amounts are components of the broader allegations, not additional totals to add to the $16 billion figure.

For Iran-related activity, Treasury said MEXC sent or received about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian crypto exchanges between May 2021 and May 2026. It also cited about $22 million in transactions involving Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Qods Force. The announcement named North Korea among the jurisdictions linked to sanctions evasion but did not provide a separate transaction total for it.

How does the Russian-law basis fit the broader allegations?

Although Treasury’s announcement groups alleged flows involving Iran, North Korea and Russia, the legal basis it cited is specifically tied to Russian illicit finance. CoinDesk’s report on the order likewise notes that Section 9714 rests on MEXC’s alleged Russian dealings, while Treasury presented the action under Operation Economic Outcast, its campaign targeting Iran’s financial networks.

Treasury described MEXC as one of the world’s 20 largest crypto exchangers, with more than $1 billion in daily transactions and about $5 billion in reserves as of September 2026. Those figures indicate the scale of the platform the order targets, while the timing clause leaves the immediate practical effect dependent on when the order appears in the Federal Register.

Sources and documents

• Treasury’s announcement — home.treasury.gov
• report on the order — coindesk.com