# US Treasury orders US banks to stop moving money for MEXC over $16 billion in alleged illicit flows

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's final order takes effect 30 days after publication and links the exchange to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia. The same day, Thailand filed a criminal complaint against Bitget's operator.

- Published: 2026-11-07T05:47:17.298Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/crypto/2026-11-07/us-treasury-orders-us-banks-to-stop-moving-money-for-mexc-ov
- Publisher: Polylog (Crypto desk)
- Section: crypto
- Sources: [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/fincen-cuts-off-mexc-us-financial-system), [Polylog editors](https://polylog.news), [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/thailand-sec-bitget-criminal-dec-5), [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/11/05/thailand-moves-to-block-bitget-as-crypto-exchange-s-local-acquisition-faces-uncertainty), [Lowenstein Sandler](https://www.lowenstein.com/news-insights/publications/client-alerts/fincen-issues-historic-order-against-virtual-currency-exchange-facilitating-russian-illicit-finance-investment-management), [Federal Register via GovInfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-10-11/html/2024-23430.htm)

The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final order under section 9714(a) against MEXC Global. Starting 30 days after the order appears in the Federal Register, US financial institutions may not send funds to the exchange or receive funds from it, [Bitcoin Magazine reported](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/fincen-cuts-off-mexc-us-financial-system). The order alleges about $16 billion in illicit flows. Citing Reuters, the [BWE News feed](https://t.me/BWEnews/16607) reported that Treasury tied the exchange's transactions to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia. [Cointelegraph](https://t.me/cointelegraph/73100) and [Watcher Guru](https://t.me/WatcherGuru/15867) carried the same Reuters account. None of the sources reviewed for this article included a response from MEXC.

Section 9714 has been used against crypto venues before, but only smaller exchangers focused on Russia. FinCEN first used it against Bitzlato in January 2023 and [named that exchange a primary money laundering concern](https://www.lowenstein.com/news-insights/publications/client-alerts/fincen-issues-historic-order-against-virtual-currency-exchange-facilitating-russian-illicit-finance-investment-management) in connection with Russian illicit finance. In October 2024 it [issued a similar order against PM2BTC](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-10-11/html/2024-23430.htm). MEXC is a different kind of target: an exchange marketed to retail traders worldwide. The order does not reach MEXC's internal ledger. It reaches every US-regulated institution that touches MEXC, including banks and money transmitters, and those include the US-registered crypto companies that convert tokens to bank dollars.

Thai regulators added pressure on offshore exchanges the same day. Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a criminal complaint against BG Limited, the operator of Bitget, for running an unlicensed exchange for Thai users from 2022 to 2025, [Bitcoin Magazine reported](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/thailand-sec-bitget-criminal-dec-5). Thailand plans to block access to the exchange on December 5. [CoinDesk reported](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/11/05/thailand-moves-to-block-bitget-as-crypto-exchange-s-local-acquisition-faces-uncertainty) that the complaint leaves Bitget's planned acquisition of a licensed local business uncertain.

## What this means

The channel is US correspondent banking and the US-regulated parts of the dollar stablecoin system. MEXC can keep running its order books. What it loses is access to banks, payment processors and compliance-bound counterparties connected to the US financial system that would otherwise move dollars in and out on its behalf. The exposed parties are MEXC's customers, the market makers who hedge on MEXC and on US venues at the same time, and token projects that depend on MEXC listings for liquidity. Washington wants to show that offshore exchanges remain subject to US rules whenever they use the dollar. Its leverage is large because dollar stablecoins and dollar banking remain the main channel through which crypto settles into bank money. That fact also counts as evidence against the desk's thesis that the dollar's global reach is shrinking. The new element is scale. Earlier section 9714 targets were small, and this one is a mass-market exchange. The likelier outcome within weeks is that compliant counterparties end their relationships with MEXC before the order takes effect, the exchange's dollar liquidity declines, and traders shift to venues outside US jurisdiction, or, for Russian users, to Russia's new domestic exchange. The condition is that regulated stablecoin issuers and large market makers comply strictly. The read would be wrong if MEXC negotiates a consent arrangement or wins a stay before the order takes effect.

## What to watch

- Whether Tether or Circle freeze wallets tied to MEXC before the effective date. A freeze would show that stablecoin issuers are enforcing US orders on-chain as well as in banks.
- Net flows out of MEXC hot wallets and changes in its order-book depth over the 30-day window. Both would show how much liquidity depends on US-linked counterparties.
- Whether FinCEN uses section 9714 against another large offshore exchange within months. A second action would show this order reflects a broader policy rather than a single case.