FinCEN cuts MEXC off from US financial system over alleged $16B in illicit flows

On November 6, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network directed American financial institutions to stop processing fiat or cryptocurrency transfers involving MEXC Global. The agency designated the offshore exchange as a significant money-laundering entity tied to Russian illicit finance under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, citing about $16.7 billion in potentially illicit transfers from May 2021 through May 2026. It said roughly $1.5 billion involved Russian sanctions evasion, including $232 million in direct transactions with sanctioned entities. The prohibition takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication, barring MEXC from U.S. financial systems while allowing operations elsewhere; FinCEN's findings do not by themselves prove a crime, and the transfers were processed by MEXC rather than necessarily originating there.