Huione Group, the Cambodia-based conglomerate that the U.S. Treasury Division needs to chop out of the U.S. monetary system, obtained $98 billion value of crypto since 2014 via illicit schemes like cash laundering, pig butchering and on-line scams, in accordance with blockchain safety agency Elliptic.
The corporate, which has hyperlinks to the Asian nation’s ruling Hun household, runs a Telegram-based market the place customers should purchase private knowledge, cash laundering providers and even electrical shackles meant to be used on human beings.
“Huione Group has come under intense scrutiny this week, with the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identifying the Cambodia-based conglomerate as an entity [of] primary money laundering concern,” Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson told CoinDesk.
In January, the company introduced its own stablecoin that, unlike third-party assets like Tether’s USDT, cannot be frozen by external organizations. The stablecoin, USDH, was created to “avoid transfer restrictions of traditional digital currencies.”
Regardless of rolling out the stablecoin, Robinson mentioned FinCEN’s transfer to clamp down on Huione is a “significant blow” to the conglomerate.
“This should serve as a wake-up call for the broader financial ecosystem to strengthen the detection and disruption of cross-border laundering networks,” he added.
Huione additionally obtained $150,000 value of crypto from North Korean hacker Lazarus Group, which stole round $3 billion value of crypto between 2018 and 2024, in accordance with a report from cybersecurity agency Recorded Future.
An try to contact the corporate by electronic mail was not answered by publication time.
