Huione Guarantee, associated with Cambodia’s Huione Group, initially appeared promising in 2021 as a marketplace for real estate and cars. However, Elliptic researchers uncovered fraudulent activities beneath its facade of legitimacy. The platform offered “deposit and escrow services” to purportedly ensure transaction security.
“Elliptic’s latest investigation reveals insights into Huione Guarantee, an online marketplace widely utilized by scam operators in Southeast Asia, including those orchestrating pig butchering scams,” part of the report stated.
Utilizing primarily USDT stablecoin payments, Elliptic researchers identified transactions exceeding $11 billion since the platform’s inception, with $3.4 billion recorded in 2024 alone.
Elliptic researchers scrutinized platform listings, interacted with sellers, and tracked funds across Tether’s blockchain to their respective recipients’ addresses. This process enabled them to pinpoint and categorize numerous cryptocurrency addresses associated with Huione Guarantee.
Notably, not all transactions definitively indicate illegal activities. However, substantial evidence suggests Huione Guarantee’s awareness of illicit businesses operating on its marketplace, with third-party merchants openly advertising services for money laundering.
These services include cross-border transfers, currency conversions to cash, stablecoins, and transfers via Chinese payment apps. Merchants also outline various forms of fraud and proceeds handling, indicating their understanding of associated risks.
“I’m uncertain whether Huione Guarantee was initially intended for this purpose. Nevertheless, it has become predominantly a marketplace for online scammers,” noted Tom Robinson, cofounder and chief scientist at Elliptic, in the report.
While Huione is not the sole marketplace facilitating online crypto scams, according to Elliptic, none match its scale. Huione Group, a Cambodian conglomerate associated with the ruling Hun family, including Prime Minister Hun Manet, did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.
Huione’s Involvement with USDT Stablecoin in the Underground Economy
In December 2023, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) highlighted the USDT stablecoin’s role in facilitating an underground Chinese-linked economy in Cambodia. This included activities such as evading capital controls for Chinese nationals, who used USDT as a means to acquire tools for conducting online scams.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Huione Pay, a Cambodia-approved financial platform, was found hosting multiple Telegram groups offering exchange services for cryptocurrency assets, including USDT. These groups were implicated in facilitating scam operations involving international SIM cards and data on Chinese expatriates.
Operators of these Telegram groups also promoted the sale of bank cards for receiving funds from scam victims. They advertised additional services such as criminal background checks, company records, and bank statements, accepting USDT as payment.
This instance underscores USDT stablecoin’s recurring role in facilitating money laundering. In January, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also flagged its use in illicit activities.
Since 2017, Cambodia has prohibited cryptocurrency. In 2022, Binance pledged to assist Cambodia, located in Mainland Southeast Asia, in formulating digital asset regulations. As part of the agreement, Binance provided technical expertise and industry experience to aid Cambodia’s Securities and Exchange Regulator (SERC) in developing a legal framework for the digital asset market.
These developments underscore the necessity for heightened oversight and regulation of online marketplaces and social media platforms to curb the spread of illicit activities. Tether has also intensified its compliance efforts, recently freezing funds held in addresses listed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.