US Treasury Department orders severing ties between MEXC and the U.S. financial system, alleging the exchange is involved in at least $16 billion in illicit fund flows.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has ordered the severing of ties between crypto exchange MEXC and the U.S. financial system, barring U.S. financial institutions from processing fund transfers involving the platform. FinCEN alleges that between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC processed at least $160 billion in funds linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illegal activities, involving entities from Iran, North Korea and Russia. Of that total, MEXC was involved in nearly $15 billion in Russian sanctions evasion transactions, including $232 million in direct trades with entities sanctioned by the U.S., EU and UK. It also provided at least $26 million in transaction services for the Russian sanctions evasion network A7, and processed nearly $200 million in transactions linked to the A7A5 stablecoin. Additionally, MEXC conducted approximately $10 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian crypto traders, and processed around $22 million in transactions involving the Central Bank of Iran, as well as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force. The order was issued under Section 9714(a) of the Countering Russian Money Laundering Act, and will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that U.S. financial institutions cannot both support the Iranian regime and continue to utilize the U.S. financial system.