The U.S. Treasury Department has taken steps to sever the Cambodia-based Huione Group from the American financial framework. This action stems from allegations that Huione is heavily involved in distributing cyber-crime support to North Korean hackers and various criminal organizations.
The Telegram-based operation has reportedly served as a crucial conduit for laundering proceeds from cyber thefts and facilitating scams known as “pig butchering”, where false romantic relationships are exploited to defraud individuals out of their cryptocurrency assets.
With estimates suggesting that Huione might have facilitated transactions worth as much as $24 billion, these activities draw significant scrutiny. Furthermore, earlier this year, Huione launched its own stablecoin, which compounds these concerns.
Quote: “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,” remarked Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. To counter these threats, FinCEN is employing its most powerful regulatory authority, outlined in Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, to sever ties with Huione.
Last year, it was reported that Huione Pay, based in Phnom Penh, received over $150,000 in cryptocurrencies tied to wallets associated with the North Korean hacking group Lazarus, which is infamous for its extensive cryptocurrency heists aimed at financing national projects.
