The US Department of the Treasury, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, announced restrictions on cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global’s access to the US financial system and imposed sanctions on eight Canadian companies. The FinCEN order will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and is intended to cut funding channels used by sanctioned individuals and organizations through digital assets.

According to the Treasury, the entities facilitated sanctions evasion involving Iran, Russia and North Korea, as well as the movement of funds tied to cybercrime and drug trafficking.

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

FinCEN restricts transfers involving MEXC

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an order prohibiting US financial institutions from transferring funds to or from MEXC Global. Violations may result in civil or criminal liability.

FinCEN said at least $16 billion tied to illicit activity flowed through MEXC from May 2021 to May 2026. That total included nearly $1.5 billion in transactions linked to evasion of Russia-related sanctions, including $232 million in direct transactions with entities sanctioned by the US, the European Union and the U.K.

The agency identified at least $26 million in transfers benefiting Russia’s A7 sanctions-evasion network and nearly $200 million in transactions involving the A7A5 stablecoin, which FinCEN said the network used.

FinCEN also cited around $1 billion in direct transactions with more than 40 Iranian crypto exchangers. Approximately $22 million in transactions benefited the Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Quds Force unit, according to the agency.

Transactions with sanctioned Russian platforms

The Treasury said MEXC continued processing transactions with sanctioned Russian platforms Garantex and its successor, Grinex, as recently as June 2026. That activity occurred more than four years after sanctions were imposed on Garantex, according to the agency.

As of September 2026, MEXC was processing more than $1 billion in transactions a day and held about $5 billion in reserves, the Treasury said. The platform offered trading in more than 3,000 crypto assets despite its stated anti-money laundering rules and prohibition on serving clients from certain jurisdictions.

North Korean hackers stole $2 billion in crypto assets in 2025 and accounted for 76% of the crypto market’s losses in 2026, stealing $577 million in the first four months.

Source: Incrypted