Overview
- FinCEN issued a final order on Friday that uses Section 9714(a) to name MEXC and several foreign affiliates and will bar U.S. banks and money transmitters from any funds transfers to or from the exchange 30 days after the Federal Register notice appears.
- Treasury says MEXC moved at least $16 billion in flows tied to sanctions evasion and cybercrime between May 2021 and May 2026, including about $1.5 billion linked to Russian sanctions evasion and $232 million in direct transactions with entities already sanctioned.
- The order singles out continued links between MEXC and OFAC‑sanctioned venues such as Garantex and its successor Grinex as recently as June 2026 and notes transactions tied to the A7 network, the A7A5 stablecoin, Iranian exchanges, DPRK facilitators, and cybercrime actors.
- The action is a FinCEN funds‑transmittal ban rather than an OFAC designation, it was signed by FinCEN deputy director Jimmy L. Kirby, and covered U.S. institutions face possible civil or criminal penalties for violations.
- Practical effects will hinge on the pending Federal Register publication and on whether MEXC contests the order or banking partners cut dollar rails, with U.S. users losing on‑ramps and offshore peer‑to‑peer trading likely to persist while counterparties reroute liquidity.