Ah, the delightful antics of the Huione Group, that paragon of Cambodian virtue, have once again graced the international stage. The Yankees, with their tiresome obsession for justice, have branded them a “transnational crime organization.” How quaint! Now, it emerges that these scoundrels have been frolicking in the South Korean crypto exchanges, laundering funds with the finesse of a debutante at a society ball.
Data from South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) reveals a veritable ballet of capital movements, each step more audacious than the last. 🕺💸
Bithumb: The Grand Ball of Suspicious Transactions
Huione’s subsidiary, Huione Guarantee, has been quite the social butterfly, flitting between Korean won-market exchanges with the zeal of a society matron at a charity auction. Over three years, their deposits and withdrawals in Tether (USDT) amounted to a modest 15.9 billion KRW ($12 million). One can only imagine the champagne bills.
The esteemed office of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yang-soo, with a flourish worthy of a Victorian novelist, disclosed the FSS data on Monday. The records, it seems, paint a portrait of Huione Guarantee as the life and soul of the financial party, deeply entwined with Korean exchanges. 🥂
Authorities, ever the killjoys, suspect these funds are linked to such unsavory pursuits as kidnapping, human trafficking, and voice phishing. How dreadfully middle-class of them.
5/ Huione has directly facilitated laundering billions in illicit funds over the past couple years from pig butchering scams, investment scams, human trafficking, and hacks/exploits in Southeast Asia.
Last week the US applied additional restrictions against Huione in relation to…
– ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 19, 2025
Bithumb, ever the gracious host, processed the lion’s share of these transactions, handling about 14.6 billion KRW. Upbit and Korbit, not to be outdone, managed 889 million KRW and 454 million KRW, respectively. A trifle, really, in the grand scheme of things. 🧮
The timing of these transfers, however, has raised more than a few eyebrows. They coincide, rather inconveniently, with a spike in fraud, kidnapping, and human trafficking cases in Cambodia. How awkward.
On October 18, the South Korean government, in a gesture of fraternal solidarity, repatriated 64 Korean nationals arrested in Cambodia for participating in online fraud schemes. Many, it seems, were held captive by Chinese crime syndicates. One can only hope they were treated to a decent cup of tea. 🍵
Kidnapping and Sanctions: A Match Made in Bureaucratic Heaven
Recent high-profile cases involving Korean victims of kidnapping, confinement, and murder have prompted a broader probe. South Korean authorities, with their characteristic zeal, are investigating whether these incidents are tied to Huione Group’s operations. One can only imagine the paperwork. 📑
Investigators note that transactions between Bithumb and Huione surged in 2024, around the same time reports increased of Koreans being lured to Cambodia under false job offers and then detained. How dreadfully inconvenient for all involved.
Right after the U.S. cut Huione Group off from the global financial system, One Property in Phnom Penh suddenly told residents they can no longer pay through ABA, only Prince Bank or Huione.
That shift looks less like a business adjustment and more like a strategy to keep…
– Jacob in Cambodia 🇺🇸 🇰🇭 (@jacobincambodia) October 17, 2025
Who Are These Huione People, Anyway?
Huione Group, with the audacity of a second-rate novelist, presents itself as a legitimate Cambodian conglomerate. Yet, its subsidiary Huione Guarantee has been accused of facilitating online fraud and money laundering under the guise of offering payment and surety services. How very clever of them. 🧠
The group first caught the international eye in July 2024, when blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that Huione Guarantee was a key platform for cryptocurrency laundering. Initially launched in 2021 as a peer-to-peer marketplace for cars and real estate, the platform evolved into a major exchange hub for Chinese yuan and USDT among criminal networks across Southeast Asia. Elliptic estimated it processed about $11 billion in illicit funds. One can only marvel at their industry. 🏭
Today, OFAC and FinCEN, with UK’s FCDO, designated the Prince Group TCO and 146 associates, while Huione Group was named under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act. DOJ also seized a record $15B in bitcoin linked to these Southeast Asian crypto scam operations. Read more here:…
– Chainalysis (@chainalysis) October 14, 2025
The Crackdown: A Farce in Three Acts
On October 14, 2025, the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), with a flourish worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, imposed sanctions on Huione Group. The action, one must admit, was rather effective, cutting the conglomerate off from the US financial system. How very American. 🇺🇸
The Treasury, never one to mince words, cited confirmed links between Huione Group and North Korean cybercrime operations as well as large-scale virtual asset scams across Southeast Asia. One can only imagine the diplomatic cables. 📜
Authorities, with their characteristic thoroughness, continue to trace the network’s financial ties as investigations expand across multiple jurisdictions. One can only hope they bring a sense of humor to the task. 😂
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2025-10-28 00:03