US Treasury Sanctions Cambodia's Huione Group, Citing Role in $70B Crypto Money Laundering Network

The US Treasury has moved against Huione Group, a Cambodia-based financial services conglomerate accused of helping the Prince Group, a transnational criminal organization, launder illicit proceeds tied to "pig butchering" romance scams that targeted Americans. On Tuesday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated nine individuals and 26 entities linked to the Prince Group. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also revised a prior rule to cover HPay Service and any successor entities, ordering a ban on covered financial institutions opening or maintaining correspondent accounts for, or on behalf of, Huione Group to reduce money-laundering risks to the US financial system. "The Trump Administration is united in its efforts to dismantle these overseas criminal enterprises, and Treasury will continue using its tools to disrupt the networks behind this egregious fraud and protect Americans," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The action was supported by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which estimated that Huione Guarantee—a peer-to-peer marketplace run by Huione Group—processed more than $70 billion in cryptocurrency over the past five years, allegedly offering illicit services and serving as a laundering channel for the Prince Group. Chainalysis said the operation went beyond targeting traditional banking routes. The Department of Justice took control of cloud computing accounts used to host and support Huione's backend systems, and the FBI seized infrastructure used by Huione in the scams, aiming to dismantle global crypto scam markets. "The Huione takedown shows what's possible when law enforcement and blockchain intelligence work together. Chainalysis is proud to have contributed to this investigation. Criminal networks adapt, and so do we," the firm said.