The US Treasury Department has moved to disconnect the Cambodia-based Huione Group from the US financial system, citing its alleged support for cybercrime and provision of services to North Korean hackers and other criminal organisations. The operation, which is based on the Telegram platform, has been identified as a key hub for laundering the proceeds of cybercrimes and facilitating so-called 'pig butchering' scams, which typically involve deceptive romantic relationships to obtain cryptocurrency from victims, according to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which proposed the disconnection on Thursday. Huione, which provides services including personal data and money laundering, is estimated to have handled transactions worth up to $24 billion, according to analytics firm Elliptic. The Cambodian marketplace has also launched its own stablecoin this year.
The Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated that 'Huione Group has become the go-to marketplace for malicious cyber actors, including the DPRK and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from ordinary Americans.' As a result, FinCEN has invoked its most severe measure - using Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act - to disconnect Huione from the financial system. As recently as last year, it was reported that Huione Pay, based in Phnom Penh, received cryptocurrency worth over $150,000 from a wallet linked to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus, which is accused of stealing billions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency in recent years, likely to fund national projects.