Key Points:

• Elliptic reports that the Huione Group has obtained $98 billion in cryptocurrency since its formation in 2014.
• The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) moved to limit the group’s access to American financial systems.
• The conglomerate issued its own stablecoin in January aiming to ‘avoid transfer restrictions associated with typical digital currencies,’.

Huione Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate that the U.S. Treasury plans to exclude from its financial framework, has reportedly amassed $98 billion in cryptocurrency through various illegal activities such as money laundering and online fraud since its inception in 2014, according to blockchain security firm Elliptic.

The company is linked to the country’s ruling Hun family and operates a marketplace on Telegram where users can acquire personal data and laundering services.

“Huione Group has come under intense scrutiny this week, with FinCEN identifying it as a primary money laundering concern,” Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s co-founder, stated.

In January, Huione introduced a stablecoin that cannot be suspended by external bodies, which was intended to bypass restrictions present in other digital assets. Despite these measures, the recent actions by FinCEN represent a significant hurdle for the conglomerate. Robinson added, “This should serve as a wake-up call for the broader financial system to bolster the detection and interruption of cross-border laundering operations.”

Additionally, Huione reportedly received $150,000 in cryptocurrency from the Lazarus Group, a hacking organization linked to North Korea.