The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from transferring funds to or from MEXC Global, effectively cutting off the convertible virtual currency exchanger’s access to the U.S. financial system. Treasury identified at least USD 16 billion in transactions linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity between May 2021 and May 2026. Violations of the order may result in civil or criminal penalties. Severe deficiencies in MEXC Global’s anti-money laundering controls allowed transactions involving prohibited jurisdictions despite its stated restrictions. Nearly USD 1.5 billion in transactions were linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including USD 232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the United States, European Union and United Kingdom. The exchange continued processing transactions with sanctioned Russian entity Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026, more than four years after Garantex’s U.S. designation. Between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC Global also sent or received approximately USD 1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian virtual currency exchangers, some subject to sanctions. Over the same period, it facilitated approximately USD 22 million in transactions for the sanctioned Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force.
US Treasury orders MEXC Global cutoff from US financial system over at least USD 16 billion in illicit transactions
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an order barring U.S. financial institutions from transferring funds to or from MEXC Global, effectively excluding the exchange from the U.S. financial system. Treasury linked at least USD 16 billion in transactions between May 2021 and May 2026 to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity, citing severe deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls. The findings included nearly USD 1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion and approximately USD 22 million in transactions for the Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force.