U.S. Treasury moves to cut off crypto exchange MEXC over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has ordered U.S. financial institutions to stop moving funds to or from the crypto exchange MEXC, alleging the platform handled at least $16 billion in illicit activity over five years.
The order bars U.S. financial institutions from sending or receiving funds to or from MEXC, including crypto transfers. It is the largest crypto exchange to be targeted under Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, a law previously used against smaller exchanges like Bitzlato and PM2BTC.
FinCEN claims that MEXC processed nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion between May 2021 and May 2026. The agency also identified about $1 billion in alleged direct transfers to more than 40 Iranian crypto exchanges and $22 million linked to Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
MEXC is the largest crypto exchange to be hit under Section 9714, a Russia-focused anti-money-laundering law previously used against smaller exchanges.
The Treasury announced the action under Operation Economic Outcast, its campaign launched in August to cut Iran off from global finance. However, Section 9714 can only be used against foreign institutions tied to Russian illicit finance, so the order formally rests on MEXC's alleged Russian dealings.
MEXC, which is ranked among the world's 20 largest crypto exchanges as of September, processes more than $1 billion in daily trades and holds about $5 billion in reserves. The exchange, which last month announced it would stop serving users in Russia and Belarus, says it is reviewing the order while it continues to operate normally and has launched an independent review of its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls.
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