FinCEN orders US financial institutions to stop MEXC transfers

FinCEN issued an order on 6 November prohibiting US financial institutions from sending or receiving funds involving MEXC Global. It takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication; MEXC says it is operating normally.

Treasury alleges the exchange facilitated at least $16 billion in transactions connected to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity between May 2021 and May 2026. Those are the agency’s findings, not an independent Royal Pond determination about individual users.

The order uses section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act and covers funds transfers, including convertible virtual currency. The released document specifies a future effective date tied to publication, rather than an immediate worldwide closure of the exchange.

MEXC’s response says its legal and compliance teams are reviewing the order. It says customer assets remain secure and that it has begun an independent review of its anti-money-laundering and sanctions controls. These assurances are the exchange’s statements; they do not independently establish asset safety.

For readers, the key distinction is between restrictions on financial connections and the exchange’s own claim that services continue. Neither statement cancels out the other. The order does not establish that every customer has committed wrongdoing, and an operational website alone does not settle questions about future transfer access.