US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference
The Treasury said MEXC Global had facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to sanctions evasion involving Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as cybercrime. The MEXC order will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, according to the Treasury.
The businesses facilitated the exchange of Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets, enabling transactions involving Iran, according to the Treasury. The department said several had dealt with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The designations were coordinated with Canada’s Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), the US department said. It said the platform had also processed transactions involving other sanctioned actors. “Financial institutions cannot have it both ways: Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system,” Bessent said in the Treasury statement.
He added: “Treasury will continue to sever the Iranian regime’s economic lifelines and thwart its desperate attempts to circumvent US sanctions using digital assets.