US Cuts MEXC Off From American Banks Over $16 Billion in Illicit Flows Tied to Russia and Iran

Published November 7, 2026 (FinCEN order of November 6).

The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Friday, Nov. 6, ordered American banks and other financial institutions to stop moving money to or from MEXC Global, saying the exchange handled at least $16 billion in illicit funds since 2021.

The scale sets this order apart. MEXC is the third crypto exchange cut off under the same Russia-focused law, after Bitzlato in 2023 and PM2BTC in 2024, but it is far larger than either. FinCEN says MEXC operates in more than 170 countries and held roughly nine percent of global centralized exchange market share as of December 2025.

"Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the action, part of a campaign the department calls Operation Economic Outcast.

The legal tool matters. The order was issued under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, which lets FinCEN name a foreign financial institution of "primary money laundering concern" in connection with Russian illicit finance. It is not an OFAC sanctions designation, and Treasury has not charged MEXC with a crime. Violations of the order, however, can bring civil or criminal penalties for US institutions.

Where Treasury says the $16 billion went

The figures cover May 2021 to May 2026. Treasury says nearly $1.5 billion was linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, EU or UK. MEXC was still dealing with Garantex and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026, more than four years after OFAC designated Garantex.

The exchange also processed almost $200 million connected to A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin used by the sanctioned A7 network, and at least $26 million that benefited A7 directly. FinCEN proposed a separate measure against A7's sub-agents on Oct. 5.

Iran is the other large block. Treasury says MEXC sent or received about $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchanges, and about $22 million for the Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Qods Force. North Korean facilitators, ransomware, scams and darknet markets are also cited, without amounts.

By BullishStation's count, the Russian and Iranian totals named by Treasury add up to about $2.5 billion, or roughly 16% of the $16 billion. The order does not break down the remaining 84% in the public text.

The order also paints a weak compliance picture. FinCEN says MEXC is incorporated in the Seychelles without a virtual asset service provider license, and cites a May 26, 2026, enforcement action by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority against MX Global Ltd for unlicensed operations. MEXC's own terms bar users from Iran and North Korea, but Treasury says "severe deficiencies" in its anti-money-laundering controls let those flows through.

MEXC responded in a statement on its announcement page. "MEXC is operating normally, and user assets remain secure," the company said, adding: "We have also begun an independent review of our AML and sanctions controls." It said it intends to engage with FinCEN and other regulators.

What the order changes for crypto users and banks

In practice, US banks, payment firms and other covered institutions will have to block any transfer involving MEXC, its subsidiaries, branches and successor entities. That closes dollar on-ramps and off-ramps that pass through the US system, even for customers outside the country.

Size gives a sense of the problem. Spread over five years, $16 billion works out to about $8.8 million a day, by our count, against more than $1 billion in daily transactions that Treasury says MEXC processed as of September 2026. The share is small, but regulators judge exchanges on whether they let sanctioned money in at all, not on the ratio.

Europe had already drawn a line. MEXC was not on ESMA's register of licensed providers at our last check of the Oct. 30 version, and press reports said it left the Dutch market in August, as noted on our list of MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges. The US move follows a run of Treasury actions on crypto rails, from the planned seizure of $1 billion in Iranian crypto to Thursday's sanctions on 45 more Prince Group fronts.

History offers a guide. After FinCEN's Bitzlato order in January 2023, published in the Federal Register, the exchange's founder had been arrested in Miami that same week and the platform was taken offline. PM2BTC, a Russian exchanger, received a similar order in October 2024. Neither came close to MEXC's size, which is why Friday's action is the most significant use of section 9714 against a crypto platform so far. Russia's parallel push to route crypto through licensed banks is covered in our Sberbank report.

The clock has not started yet. The order takes effect 30 days after it appears in the Federal Register, and it had not been published there as of Nov. 7. If it runs on Monday, Nov. 9, the ban would apply from Dec. 9, 2026. Watch for that date, for any OFAC designation, and for MEXC's promised review findings.

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Sources: US Treasury press release sb0685 (Nov. 6, 2026); FinCEN, Imposition of Special Measure Prohibiting the Transmittal of Funds Involving MEXC Global (section 9714 order, Nov. 6, 2026); MEXC statement regarding FinCEN's Nov. 6 order; Federal Register (Bitzlato order, Jan. 23, 2023; PM2BTC order, Oct. 11, 2024; A7 sub-agents proposal, Oct. 5, 2026).

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money.