Treasury orders US banks to cut off MEXC, alleging $16 billion in illicit crypto flows

The US Treasury has ordered American financial institutions to stop processing transfers involving crypto exchange MEXC Global, alleging the platform handled at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, Russia, North Korea and cybercrime between May 2021 and May 2026.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) order, announced on November 6, 2026, takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It is not a sanctions designation.

Illicit crypto activity allegations put MEXC under scrutiny

Treasury’s allegations concern transactions involving sanctioned entities in Iran, Russia and North Korea. Officials said MEXC maintained customer verification and anti-money laundering policies but failed to prevent restricted individuals and organisations from using its platform.

The scale of the exchange gives the action significance beyond a single trading service. Treasury described MEXC as one of the world’s 20 largest cryptocurrency exchanges, processing more than $1 billion in daily transactions and holding approximately $5 billion in reserves as of September.

Its platform offers access to more than 3,000 cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. Those figures illustrate the size of the business now facing restrictions, although Treasury’s illicit crypto activity allegations relate specifically to the transactions identified by officials.

“Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the “department’s announcement” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the department’s announcement.

The statement places the MEXC action within Washington’s wider effort to restrict financial channels allegedly serving sanctioned governments.

Russian transactions form a major part of the case

According to Treasury, approximately $1.5 billion in transactions through MEXC were linked to Russian sanctions evasion. That amount included $232 million transferred directly to or from entities sanctioned by the United States, European Union and United Kingdom.

The illicit crypto activity allegations also involve Garantex, the Russian cryptocurrency platform sanctioned by the United States in 2022. Treasury said MEXC continued processing transactions involving Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026.

That timeline is central to the department’s criticism: the alleged dealings continued years after the original restrictions against Garantex were imposed.

Officials also accused MEXC of processing at least $26 million in transactions benefiting Russia’s sanctioned A7 network. Nearly $200 million more was connected to the A7A5 stablecoin, which U.S. authorities have identified as a tool for circumventing financial restrictions.

Together, these transactions form a substantial part of Treasury’s illicit crypto activity case against the exchange, alongside its allegations involving Iranian financial networks.

Iranian exchange links widen Treasury’s allegations

Treasury said MEXC sent or received approximately $1 billion directly involving more than 40 Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges during the five-year period under review.

Another $22 million involved Iran’s sanctioned central bank, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force, according to the department.

The Iranian transactions give the illicit crypto activity allegations a direct connection to Operation Economic Outcast. The campaign seeks to restrict Iran’s access to international finance, including through cryptocurrency businesses allegedly supporting its financial networks.

The MEXC order follows earlier measures against that infrastructure. In August, Treasury expanded its sanctions authority to cover Iran’s digital asset sector, exposing foreign cryptocurrency businesses to potential penalties for supporting the country’s financial networks.

U.S. authorities subsequently sanctioned Iranian exchange Bitbank in September. Officials alleged that financier Babak Zanjani used the platform to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to the Revolutionary Guard.

Those earlier actions provide the backdrop to the latest illicit crypto activity crackdown, which now reaches an exchange with a much broader international trading business.

FinCEN order restricts access to American financial institutions

FinCEN issued the MEXC order under Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. Once it takes effect, American financial institutions will be prohibited from transmitting funds to or from the exchange. Violations could carry civil or criminal penalties.

MEXC had already begun retreating from some markets before the announcement. In October, Bitcoin.com News reported that the exchange was winding down services for users in Russia and Belarus, citing global compliance requirements amid tightening European sanctions.

The new order imposes a separate restriction. Rather than addressing which customers MEXC serves in particular countries, it bars American financial institutions from processing transfers involving the platform.

For MEXC, the illicit crypto activity allegations therefore bring consequences that extend beyond its previously announced regional withdrawals. The order restricts its connections to the U.S. financial system and creates obligations for the American institutions that might otherwise handle its transfers.

The immediate compliance deadline is tied to Federal Register publication. When the 30-day period expires, those institutions must stop the prohibited transfers, giving Treasury’s illicit crypto activity enforcement action a defined operational effect.