U.S. Treasury orders financial cutoff of MEXC Global

The U.S. Treasury Department has ordered financial institutions in the United States to stop transmitting funds to or from cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global, citing alleged illicit transactions totaling at least $16 billion. The restriction takes effect 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register, Treasury said. The order was issued by the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. Treasury said the transactions occurred between May 2021 and May 2026 and involved activity linked to Iran, Russia and North Korea. The $16 billion figure and the allegations are Treasury’s estimates; the reports describe no independent verification of the underlying transactions. Treasury said MEXC maintained anti-money-laundering policies but had severe deficiencies in its controls. The department said the exchange processed transactions involving sanctioned individuals and organizations. The order would bar U.S. financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from MEXC once effective. Treasury’s announcement included more specific allegations involving Russia and Iran. It attributed about $1.5 billion in transactions to Russian sanctions evasion, including...