MEXC cut off from US banking: what the FinCEN order says

The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a final order Friday that cuts offshore exchange MEXC Global off from the American banking system. The agency cites alleged links to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia.

The order was published as a PDF pending placement in the Federal Register. It finds MEXC a primary money laundering concern tied to Russian illicit finance under section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. Treasury framed the move as part of Operation Economic Outcast.

The 30-day clock has not started yet. Covered U.S. financial institutions will be barred from any funds transfer, including convertible virtual currency, to or from MEXC thirty days after the Federal Register notice appears.

As of Friday evening eastern time, the Register's public index showed no MEXC document. That matches the order's own cover note that publication is pending. The order was signed by FinCEN Deputy Director Jimmy L. Kirby.

The order names MEXC Global and affiliates operating outside the United States. The list includes Seychelles-incorporated MEXC Global Ltd / MX Global Ltd, Estonia's MEXC Estonia OÜ, Switzerland's GIDA Technology AG and the U.K.'s MXC Global Ltd, plus successors.

Covered institutions face civil or criminal penalties for willful violations. The order says it does not rewrite Bank Secrecy Act duties or OFAC rules. It is a FinCEN funds-transmittal ban, not a Section 311 proposed rulemaking, and not an OFAC sanctions designation.

Treasury alleges MEXC facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit flows from May 2021 through May 2026. That includes nearly $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion and about $22 million linked to Iran's Central Bank and the IRGC's Qods Force.

The release says the platform was still processing trades with sanctioned Garantex and successor Grinex as recently as June 2026. That is more than four years after OFAC designated Garantex. FinCEN also cites about $1 billion in direct traffic with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchangers.

MEXC already lists the United States as a prohibited jurisdiction in its user terms. The action mainly hits any remaining dollar rails, banking partners and counterparties that still touch U.S. institutions.

Regulators elsewhere have acted before. The U.K. FCA put MEXC Global Ltd on its warning list in March 2024 as unauthorized. Hong Kong's SFC warned the same month about marketing to local investors without a licence. Seychelles' FSA said in May 2026 it took action against MX Global Ltd for unlicensed virtual-asset operations.

MEXC has not issued a public response to the Friday order. What remains to confirm is the Federal Register publication date, which starts the 30-day countdown.