The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed cutting off the Cambodia-based Huione Group from the U.S. financial system, citing the organization’s facilitation of cybercrime and its role in supporting illicit marketplaces used by North Korean hackers and other criminal entities.
According to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Telegram-based operation has emerged as a “critical node for laundering proceeds of cyber heists” and facilitating so-called “pig butchering” scams, which typically exploit fraudulent romantic relationships to siphon cryptocurrency assets from unsuspecting victims.
Huione offers personal data and money laundering services, reportedly handling as much as $24 billion in illicit transactions, as noted by analytical firm Elliptic. Earlier this year, the Cambodian marketplace also introduced its own stablecoin, further expanding its financial operations.
“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,” stated Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, confirming the urgency behind FinCEN’s proposed action. The agency has sought to invoke its powers under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act to effectively sever Huione from the financial system.
It is notable that as recently as last year, Huione Pay was reported to have received over $150,000 in cryptocurrency from a wallet linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, an organization infamous for stealing billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies, likely to fund state-sponsored projects.
This proposed action by the U.S. Treasury illustrates a significant step in the ongoing battle against cybercrime and money laundering, highlighting the need for vigilant oversight in the ever-evolving landscape of financial transactions in the digital age.
