US Treasury Cuts MEXC Off From The US Financial System Over Alleged $16.7bn In Illicit Flows

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an order prohibiting US financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from Seychelles-based crypto exchange MEXC (@mexc). The action, announced on 6 November 2026 under Treasury’s “Operation Economic Outcast”, finds MEXC Global to be a financial institution operating outside the US of primary money laundering concern in connection with Russian illicit finance.

The order was issued under Section 9714(a) of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act. It is not an OFAC sanctions designation. It bars covered US financial institutions from engaging in any transmittal of funds from or to MEXC Global, including convertible virtual currency. It takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and has no end date.

“Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system. Treasury will continue to sever the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines and thwart its desperate attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions using digital assets.” - Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, US Department of the Treasury

The Allegations

FinCEN alleges that MEXC processed around $16.7 billion in likely illicit funds between May 2021 and May 2026. The order cites:

1. about $1.5 billion of exposure to Russian sanctions evasion, including around $129 million with sanctioned exchange Garantex
2. about $1.87 billion with Iran-linked exposure
3. around $350,000 received by a North Korean money launderer
4. at least $1.99 billion from illicit cyber actors, including more than $37.9 million in suspected ransomware payments
5. 
   

FinCEN describes MEXC as handling more than $1 billion in daily volume. The exchange was ranked second globally by spot market share in a TokenInsight report earlier this year. MEXC had not made a public statement on the order at the time of writing.

EU Retreat Widens

The order comes as MEXC scales back in Europe. The exchange has told France-linked users it will stop serving them, citing regulatory alignment, and is referring eligible users to Kraken (@kraken). Users must open their own Kraken accounts; there is no automatic migration. MEXC will wind down French accounts in groups between 18 November 2026 and 22 January 2027, with withdrawals closing on 5 March 2027.

Kraken serves French clients through its Irish entity, which activated its MiCA licence across all 30 EEA countries last year. MEXC previously exited the Netherlands, also referring users to Kraken.

Separately, NatGold Digital said on 7 November it had asked MEXC to delist its NATG token immediately following the Treasury action.