{"id":412941,"date":"2025-12-02T20:41:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/sanctioned-lender-huione-shuts-phnom-penh-branches-halts-withdrawals-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T20:55:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:25:18","slug":"sanctioned-lender-huione-shuts-phnom-penh-branches-halts-withdrawals-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/sanctioned-lender-huione-shuts-phnom-penh-branches-halts-withdrawals-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctioned Lender Huione Shuts Phnom Penh Branches, Halts Withdrawals &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"position:relative;overflow:visible;font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.58\">\n<div class=\"pt-8 pb-10 border-t border-b border-decryptGridline \">\n<h4 class=\"sc-b2a202e4-4 bNRGqr gg-dark:text-white\" color=\"#333\">In brief<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Huione Group has closed its Phnom Penh branches following actions brought by the U.S. and UK cutting it out of the international banking system in October.<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">The sanctioned conglomerate\u2019s marketplace and escrow service have been tied to billions of dollars in illicit transactions, according to U.S. and UK authorities.<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Analysts say intensified enforcement, including FinCEN\u2019s designation, may represent a decisive shift in the region\u2019s illicit finance ecosystem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Branches of the sanctioned Cambodian conglomerate Huione Group\u2019s Huione Pay banking services have closed their doors and halted cash withdrawals, with photos circulating on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jacobincambodia\/status\/1995347893515898995\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">social media<\/a> showing queues forming outside locked doors on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">The freeze follows the U.S. and UK cutting Huione off from the international banking system in October, part of a broader effort to disrupt Cambodia\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/322106\/cambodias-19-billion-financial-scam-empire-fueled-by-crypto-says-watchdog-group\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">$19 billion-a-year<\/a> industrialized scam economy. Huione has been described as \u201ccritical infrastructure\u201d for those networks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"relative w-full\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet mx-auto\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Late last night, messages spread online claiming a major announcement was coming to stop cash withdrawals. This morning, crowds rushed to Huione branches to see if they could still cash out, only to find the rumored notice posted on the the entrance display.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone is at a\u2026 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lbuSOcehis\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">https:\/\/t.co\/lbuSOcehis<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nfuGJcLxBT\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">pic.twitter.com\/nfuGJcLxBT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jacob in Cambodia \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\udded (@jacobincambodia) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jacobincambodia\/status\/1995347893515898995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">December 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">U.S. Treasury officials say at least $4 billion moved through Huione\u2019s escrow services since 2021, although <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elliptic.co\/blog\/cyber-scam-marketplace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">other estimates<\/a> put the number as \u201cat least\u201d $11 billion. Funds linked to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/350303\/upbit-hack-north-koreas-lazarus-seoul-opens-probe\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/350295\/interpol-scam-compound-network-global-threat-crypto-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">major scam compounds<\/a>, and the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/240604\/wazirx-loses-230-million-in-suspected-dprk-hack\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">$235 million WazirX hack<\/a> were among the flows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">\u201cPressure has been building for months\u2014from Cambodia\u2019s revocation of its banking licence to FinCEN\u2019s move to identify Huione as a primary money laundering concern,\u201d Angela Ang, Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, APAC at TRM Labs told <i>Decrypt<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">\u201cHuione may have been cavalier at first, but the impact has clearly caught up. This latest development signals that FinCEN\u2019s special measures could be the final nail in the coffin.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"sc-b2a202e4-2 bmropA gg-dark:text-white scene:font-itc-avant-garde-gothic-pro scene:font-light\" style=\"margin-top:2em;text-align:left;padding-bottom:16px;margin-bottom:16px;border-bottom:1px solid #dfe2e4\" color=\"#333\">What is Huione?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Founded around 2014 and counting Hun To\u2014cousin of Prime Minister Hun Manet\u2014among its board members, the Huione Group offers a range of financial services in Cambodia targeting primarily Chinese-speaking users. Its services span payments, bill settlement and financial transfers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">It initially garnered attention because of its subsidiary, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/news-explorer?pinned=888252&#038;title=huione-guarantee-app-removed-from-google-play-store-amid-money-laundering-allegations\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">Huione Guarantee<\/a> (later known as Haowang Guarantee), an escrow service provided by the company for its website and Telegram marketplace, which connected sellers and vendors interested in money laundering services, scam website templates and even items like tasers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Cambodia has become a hub for industrial-scale online scamming, with the UN <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2023\/08\/1140187\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">estimating<\/a> in 2023 that more than 100,000 people work inside scam compounds, some under coercion. Investigators say Huione\u2019s financial rails have <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/322106\/cambodias-19-billion-financial-scam-empire-fueled-by-crypto-says-watchdog-group\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">helped sustain<\/a> those operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Attempts to take action against it ramped up this year. Cambodia\u2019s financial regulator <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20250318170303\/https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/cambodia\/2025\/03\/06\/huione-cambodia-cyberscam-cryptocurrency\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">revoked<\/a> Huione Pay\u2019s licence in March, citing compliance violations. Huione dismissed the action, saying its operations no longer required a banking licence and blaming unnamed adversaries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">FinCEN escalated matters on May 1, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/317522\/us-treasury-cut-off-cambodias-huione-group-financial-system-4b-laundering-claims\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">naming<\/a> Huione a primary money laundering concern. That same month, Humanity Research Consultancy <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.humanity-consultancy.com\/publications\/policies-and-patterns-state-abetted-transnational-crime-in-cambodia-as-a-global-security-threat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">identified<\/a> the conglomerate as a key component of Cambodia\u2019s scam economy, which it estimates is valued at 60% of national GDP.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border:0\" src=\"https:\/\/myriad.markets\/embed\/market\/bitcoin-s-next-move-pump-to-100k-or-dump-to-69k\" width=\"100%\" height=\"415px\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:0px;overflow:hidden;line-height:0\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">In October, the U.S., alongside the UK, finalized an action to cut the Huione Group out of the U.S. financial system. \u201cFor years, Huione Group has laundered proceeds of virtual currency scams and heists on behalf of malicious cyber actors,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sb0278\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">said<\/a> the U.S. Treasury in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">But despite the pressure, Huione has proved resilient. Alternative guarantee services have emerged as its Telegram channels <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/320178\/telegram-pulls-plug-on-haowang-guarantee-crypto-crime-syndicate\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">went offline<\/a>, with Tudou Guarantee, 30% owned by Huione, seeing rapid growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">The group has also launched USDH, a dollar\u2011backed <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/?post_type=post&#038;p=5761\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span class=\"sc-5475d909-4 fBeAzA\">stablecoin<\/span><\/a> on <span class=\"link\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/price\/tron\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">Tron<\/a><\/span> and Xone. The latter is a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/?post_type=post&#038;p=5712\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span class=\"sc-5475d909-4 fBeAzA\">blockchain<\/span><\/a> previously known as Huione Chain, backed by the group and marketed as \u201ccensorship\u2011resistant.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-4 border-b border-decryptGridline\">\n<div class=\"text-start p-8 md:py-12 md:px-12 max-w-prose relative\"><span class=\"border-t-4 border-l-4 w-4 h-4 md:border-t-[6px] md:border-l-[6px] md:w-6 md:h-6 border-decryptPurple dark:border-decryptNeon gg-dark:border-cc-pink-2 absolute top-4 left-4 md:top-6 md:left-6\"\/><span class=\"border-t-4 border-l-4 w-4 h-4 md:border-t-[6px] md:border-l-[6px] md:w-6 md:h-6 border-decryptPurple dark:border-decryptNeon gg-dark:border-cc-pink-2 absolute rotate-180 bottom-4 right-4 md:bottom-6 md:right-6\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"font-akzidenz-grotesk font-bold text-xl md:text-3xl md:text-center gg-dark:text-white\">Daily Debrief<!-- --> Newsletter<\/h3>\n<p>Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In brief Huione Group has closed its Phnom Penh branches following actions brought by the U.S. and UK cutting it out of the international banking system in October. The sanctioned conglomerate\u2019s marketplace and escrow service have been tied to billions of dollars in illicit transactions, according to U.S. and UK authorities. Analysts say intensified enforcement, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[230,225,221,227,226,228,229,60,223,224,222],"class_list":["post-412941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-brave","tag-coinbase","tag-crypto","tag-decentralised","tag-decentralized","tag-decentralized-exchange","tag-erc-20","tag-featured","tag-meme-coin","tag-robinhood","tag-solana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412941"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412943,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412941\/revisions\/412943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}