Romance scams, North Korean hackers, and an “unfreezable” stablecoin have put a shadowy crypto marketplace in Washington’s crosshairs.
The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has designated Cambodia-based Huione Group a “primary money laundering concern” and proposed to “sever its access to the US financial system.”
In a notice issued yesterday, FinCEN said Huione has laundered at least $4 billion in illicit crypto since 2021.
This included $37 million linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, the same hackers behind the record-breaking $1.4 billion Bybit heist from earlier this year, and $36 million from pig-butchering scams.
“Huione is the marketplace of choice for DPRK hackers and criminal syndicates,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The group operates a web of payment, crypto, and online marketplace services — Huione Pay, Huione Crypto, and Haowang Guarantee — used to transfer illicit funds, exchange currencies, and sell scam-related tools.
One of its products is a stablecoin called USDH. It’s explicitly marketed as “unfreezable.”
Unlike most stablecoin issuers that have the ability to freeze illicit funds, Huione “intentionally launched” USDH to avoid such controls, FinCEN wrote in its summary.
As DL News reported and blockchain firm Elliptic estimated last year, Huione has likely processed closer to $11 billion in crypto, often for fraud networks operating in Southeast Asia.
Ads found on its Telegram channels openly offered laundering services and scam infrastructure.
DL News and Elliptic also identified Hun To, a cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, as a director of one Huione-linked firm. At the time, Huione’s media representatives did not respond to a request for comment. Hun To could not be reached for comment.
Cambodia claims to be cracking down on scam compounds but hasn’t addressed alleged ties to the ruling family.
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].