The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued a notice of proposed rulemaking Thursday to designate the Cambodia-based Huione Group as a “foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern.”
The Huione Group is a financial conglomerate made up of a network of businesses, including a digital payments platform, a virtual asset service provider and an online marketplace selling illicit goods and services that all “play a different role in its money laundering enterprise,” FinCEN alleged in its proposed rule.
U.S. officials believe that Huione Group laundered around $4 billion worth of illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, at least $37 million of which can be traced back to cryptocurrency heists carried out by North Korean hacking groups. The group has also allegedly laundered billions of dollars derived from “pig butchering” scams perpetrated by organized crime groups based in Southeast Asia.
If finalized, FinCEN’s proposed rule would prohibit U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts for—or on behalf of—Huione Group, severing the group’s access to the U.S. financial system.
Topics : | Anti-money laundering |
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Source: | U.S.: FinCEN |
Document Date: | May 1, 2025 |