The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a Treasury Department unit, designated MEXC as a “primary money laundering concern.” The order bars U.S. financial institutions from conducting transfers to or from the exchange. It will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
According to FinCEN, at least $16 billion linked to illicit activity passed through MEXC from May 2021 to May 2026. Around $1.5 billion of that was linked to evading sanctions on Russia, including $232 million in direct transfers to sanctioned entities.
Another approximately $22 million, according to FinCEN, went to Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. No figures are available for North Korea: MEXC said it blocks users from there. The exchange did not comment in the reports.