FinCEN Orders US Banks To Block MEXC Transfers

US banks and other financial institutions will have to stop processing transfers involving cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global under a new order from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

FinCEN said MEXC facilitated at least $16bn in transactions associated with sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity between May 2021 and May 2026.

The prohibition applies to money moving both to and from the exchange and will take effect 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register.

Financial institutions that violate the order could face civil or criminal penalties.

FinCEN found MEXC to be a primary money-laundering concern connected with Russian illicit finance, using powers provided by the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act.

The US Treasury said nearly $1.5bn in transactions was linked to Russian sanctions evasion, including $232m in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, EU or UK.

MEXC also allegedly processed around $1bn in direct transactions involving more than 40 Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges. FinCEN identified additional activity connected with North Korean sanctions evasion, ransomware, scam payments and darknet markets.

The action forms part of the Treasury’s Operation Economic Outcast.

Once the prohibition takes effect, US financial institutions will have to identify and block covered transfers involving MEXC. Their existing obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act, including requirements governing suspicious-activity reporting, will remain in place.

MEXC said its legal and compliance teams were reviewing the order and that its services continued to operate normally.

“We take the concerns raised seriously and intend to engage constructively with FinCEN,” MEXC said in a statement.

The order gives US banks a direct role in isolating the exchange from the American financial system and will require them to identify transfers involving MEXC Global before processing them.