The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an order blocking global cryptocurrency exchange MEXC from accessing the U.S. financial system.
FinCEN said MEXC facilitated at least $16 billion in transactions linked to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as cybercrime and other illicit activity, between May 2021 and May 2026.
Of that amount, approximately $1.5 billion in transactions were linked to Russian sanctions evasion, while transactions directly involving entities subject to U.S., EU and U.K. sanctions totaled $232 million. FinCEN’s investigation also found that MEXC directly sent and received approximately $1 billion with more than 40 Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges during the same period, and processed about $22 million in transactions related to Iran’s central bank, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Quds Force.
Under the order, U.S. financial institutions will be prohibited from processing fund transfers involving MEXC. The measure will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.