U.S. Government Begins to Sever Cambodia's Huione Group from Financial System
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The U.S. Government has taken a decisive step to disconnect the Huione Group in Cambodia from the financial system due to its involvement in illegal activities. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department issued a recommendation to sever ties with the Huione Group, based in Cambodia, citing its support for North Korean hackers and other criminal organizations.
The Huione Group, operating on Telegram, has been flagged as a significant player in laundering proceeds from cybercrimes and participating in scams like "pig butchering," which exploit fake romantic relationships to swindle victims of their cryptocurrency assets. According to FinCEN, Huione has processed around $24 billion in such transactions and even introduced its own stablecoin earlier this year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted that Huione has become a hub for malevolent cyber entities such as North Korea and criminal groups who have stolen substantial amounts from Americans. In response, FinCEN invoked Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, a potent measure, to eliminate Huione's access to the financial system.
Recent reports revealed that Huione Pay, based in Phnom Penh, received over $150,000 in cryptocurrency last year from Lazarus, a North Korean hacker group notorious for stealing billions in crypto assets to fund national projects.
U.S. Government Begins to Sever Cambodia's Huione Group from Financial System
The Treasury Department's financial-crimes arm used its most potent safeguard to propose cutting off the organization as a money-laundering danger.
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The Telegram-based operation has been a "critical node for laundering proceeds of cyber heists" and aiding in so-called "pig butchering" scams that typically use fraudulent romantic ties to tap people for crypto assets, according to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that proposed severing it from the financial system on Thursday.
Huione, which offers personal data and money laundering services, has been said to handle as much as $24 billion of such transactions, according to analytical firm Elliptic. The Cambodian marketplace also launched its own stablecoin earlier this year.
“Huione Group has established itself as the marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors like the DPRK and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, in a statement. So FinCEN sought to tap its nuclear-option power — using Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act — to sever Huione from the financial system.
As recently as last year, Phnom Penh-based Huione Pay was said to receive crypto totaling more than $150,000 from a wallet associated with North Korean hackers Lazarus, the group accused of stealing billions of dollars in crypto over the past several years that's likely used to fund national projects.
