Treasury orders U.S. financial firms to block MEXC transfers

The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order on Nov. 6 to block U.S. financial firms from transferring funds to or from MEXC Global, citing at least $16 billion in alleged illicit transactions. The agency says the flows, from May 2021 to May 2026, were linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illegal activity involving Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Treasury announcement describes the action as part of its effort to cut Iran off from global finance.

The order is not yet in force. FinCEN says it will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register; its order filed with the Federal Register says publication is pending. Until then, the order’s transfer ban has not taken effect.

What transfers would the order block?

Once effective, the order would prohibit covered U.S. financial institutions from sending funds to or receiving them from MEXC Global. Treasury says this applies to funds transfers involving the exchange, while the order’s text covers transactions involving MEXC and its non-U.S. subsidiaries, branches, offices and successor entities.

That puts the immediate obligation on financial firms handling transfers, rather than establishing a general ban on every person using the exchange. The order does not itself say that MEXC must shut down globally. It also does not cancel separate duties under the Bank Secrecy Act, including suspicious activity reporting, or change sanctions administered by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Why does the order focus on Russian finance?

FinCEN issued the order under Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, which allows restrictions on transfers involving foreign financial institutions found to be a primary money-laundering concern linked to Russian illicit finance. That is the legal basis, even though Treasury’s announcement also highlights alleged activity connected to Iran and North Korea.

FinCEN’s order puts the total at $16.7 billion in transfers connected to Russian illicit finance and other illicit activity over the five-year period. It separately identifies nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the U.S., European Union or United Kingdom. The agency says MEXC continued transactions with Russia-linked exchanges Garantex and Grinex as recently as June 2026.

Treasury also says MEXC facilitated about $1 billion in direct transfers to more than 40 Iranian crypto exchanges and roughly $22 million in transactions for Iran’s sanctioned central bank and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Qods Force. These are government allegations in support of the order, not a criminal court finding that every transfer involved a crime.

What should MEXC users and firms watch next?

The key date is publication in the Federal Register, which starts the 30-day countdown. U.S. financial firms will need to prepare to screen covered transfers once the rule takes effect; the order warns that violations may bring civil or criminal penalties.

CoinDesk reported that MEXC said it was reviewing the order, continuing normal operations and commissioning an independent review of its anti-money-laundering and sanctions controls. Users and counterparties should watch for the Federal Register publication date and any further statement from MEXC about how the restriction could affect deposits, withdrawals or other transfers through U.S. financial institutions.

Source material

• Treasury announcement — home.treasury.gov
• order filed with the Federal Register — fincen.gov