US cuts MEXC off from its financial system over Russia- and Iran-linked money laundering

FinCEN bars US financial institutions from processing transfers to or from MEXC Global, which it designates as being “of primary money laundering concern” in connection with Russian illicit finance.

The order takes effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. According to the Treasury, MEXC processed more than $1 billion per day, held around $5 billion in reserves in September and lists more than 3,000 crypto assets. Its anti-money laundering controls have “serious deficiencies” that allowed transactions involving Iran and North Korea to go through.

It attributes to the exchange at least $16 billion linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activities between May 2021 and May 2026: around $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion, transactions with Garantex and Grinex until June 2026, nearly $200 million related to the A7A5 stablecoin and around $1 billion with more than 40 Iranian exchanges. Scott Bessent: “Financial institutions cannot have it both ways.”

WASHINGTON — Today, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order that effectively blocks MEXC Global’s access to the US financial system. MEXC Global is a convertible virtual currency (CVC) exchange that has facilitated illicit transactions worth at least $16 billion, linked to the evasion of sanctions against Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as to cybercrime, including through direct transactions with sanctioned actors. 

“Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: either they support the Iranian regime or they have access to the US financial system,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent . “Treasury will continue to cut off the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines and thwart its desperate attempts to evade US sanctions through digital assets.”

FinCEN’s order prevents US financial institutions from processing transfers of funds involving MEXC Global.

MEXC Global: A hub for sanctioned actors

MEXC Global was founded in 2018 and, as of September 2026, processed more than $1 billion in daily transactions and held approximately $5 billion in reserves. It is one of the 20 largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The platform offers trading in more than 50 currencies and access to more than 3,000 different cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. 

While the platform claims to maintain anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer policies, and explicitly prohibits its use by or on behalf of persons in certain jurisdictions, including Iran and North Korea, serious deficiencies in its AML controls have allowed it to facilitate transactions for persons or entities in those prohibited jurisdictions, making it a significant conduit for illicit finance. 

Between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC Global facilitated the movement of at least $16 billion in funds related to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activities. This includes nearly $1.5 billion in transactions linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, the EU and the UK, making MEXC Global a primary money laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance. In fact, MEXC Global continued to process transactions with sanctioned Russian entity Garantex, and its successor Grinex, until June 2026, more than four years after the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Garantex in April 2022. MEXC Global also facilitated transactions worth at least $26 million that benefited the Russia-based, OFAC-sanctioned A7 sanctions evasion network, and processed nearly $200 million in transactions related to the A7A5 stablecoin, a store of value used by the A7 network to help its clients evade sanctions.  

MEXC Global has not only facilitated Russian illicit finance, but has also served as a hub for other types of illicit financial activity, including the evasion of sanctions against Iran and the DPRK, ransomware payments and scams, and activity on Russian and other darknet markets. Between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC Global sent or received approximately $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 identified Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, some of which are subject to US and international sanctions. Over the same period, MEXC Global facilitated transactions worth approximately $22 million for the Central Bank of Iran, sanctioned by OFAC and the EU, and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force, also sanctioned by OFAC, the UK and the EU.  

IMPLICATIONS OF TODAY’S ACTIONS

Today’s action will protect the US financial system from the significant illicit finance threats posed by MEXC Global. The order, issued under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, prohibits US financial institutions from conducting any transfer of funds to or from MEXC Global. Failure to comply with this order may result in civil or criminal penalties. The order does not alter existing obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (including Suspicious Activity Report filing requirements) or sanctions administered by OFAC. The order will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register .

Individuals residing in the United States or abroad who provide information on sanctions violations to FinCEN’s whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action resulting in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000. As highlighted in FinCEN’s recent  Bulletin , this includes information on violations of the Bank Secrecy Act or OFAC-administered sanctions programs that may involve the use of Iranian intermediaries and facilitators operating outside Iran. 

FinCEN’s order can be found here .