Cambodia's Huione Group receives cryptoassets worth 14 trillion yen from operating illegal markets ─ US regulators strengthen regulations: Elliptic | CoinDesk JAPAN

• The blockchain security company Elliptic announced that the Cambodia-based Huione Group, which operates illegal marketplaces, has received cryptoassets worth $98 billion (approximately ¥14.2 trillion, based on an exchange rate of ¥145 per dollar) since its establishment in 2014.
• FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury) proposed measures on May 1 to restrict the group’s access to the U.S. financial system.
• The group issued its own stablecoin USDH in January, stating that its purpose was to “avoid remittance restrictions on traditional digital currencies.”

The Cambodian corporate group “Huione Group” has received cryptoassets worth $98 billion (approximately 14.2 trillion yen, based on an exchange rate of 145 yen to 1 dollar) through online fraud such as money laundering and “pig slaughtering scams,” according to the blockchain security company Elliptic. The U.S. Treasury Department is attempting to exclude this group from the U.S. financial system.

Fiwan has connections with the Hun family, which has dominated Cambodia’s political system for many years. It operates a Telegram-based marketplace where users can purchase personal information, money laundering services, and even restraints targeting individuals.

“The Fuyuan Group has come under strict scrutiny this week after the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated the group, based in Cambodia, as a ‘primary money laundering concern,’” said Tom Robinson, co-founder of Elliptic, to CoinDesk.

In January, the group introduced its own stablecoin, USDH. Unlike Tether’s USDT, USDH will not be frozen by external organizations. This stablecoin “USDH” was issued to “avoid remittance restrictions on traditional digital currencies.”

▶ Related Articles: The company “Huione” that operates a $24 billion illegal marketplace on Telegram has issued a stablecoin.

However, Mr. Robinson stated that the FinCEN’s regulatory tightening measures would be “extremely detrimental” to the group.

“This should be seen as a warning to the entire financial ecosystem to strengthen the detection and interruption of cross-border money laundering networks.”

Fuiwan has also received approximately $150,000 worth of cryptoassets from the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group, which has stolen around $3 billion worth of cryptoassets from 2018 to 2024, according to cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

CoinDesk attempted to contact the group via email, but there was no response by the time this article was published.