U.S. Treasury moves to cut off crypto exchange MEXC over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows

The U.S. Treasury is moving to cut off crypto exchange MEXC from the U.S. financial system, alleging thatit handled at least $16 billion tied to Iranian, North Korean and Russian sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity.

The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued the order Friday under Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. Once in effect, it will bar U.S. financial institutions from sending funds to or receiving funds from MEXC, including crypto transfers.

Treasury announced the action under Operation Economic Outcast, its campaign launched in August to cut Iran off from global finance. But 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 is the largest crypto exchange targeted under the provision. Earlier crypto targets included Bitzlato in 2023 and PM2BTC in 2024, both of which were far smaller.

The exchange is ranked among the world's 20 largest crypto exchanges as of September, processing more than $1 billion in daily trades and holding about $5 billion in reserves, according to the Treasury.

FinCEN claimed that MEXC processed nearly $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion between May 2021 and May 2026, including transactions involving sanctioned crypto exchange Garantex and its successor Grinex, as recently as June.

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, which last month announced it would stop serving users in Russia and Belarus, said 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.

The order takes effect 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register.