Audit log

Every state-changing event for Huione Group (Haowang Guarantee): moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot taken at submission time, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-06-26 12:10:18Z
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   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a68a9e58-7e6b-44e2-9862-0c25c6a2cbeb","kind":"publish","page_slug":"huione-group-haowang-guarantee","published_at":"2026-06-26T12:10:18.677Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Huione Group (Haowang Guarantee)","sections":[{"content":"On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of a cloud computing account that served as the technological backbone for Huione Group subsidiaries, including Huione Guarantee (also known as Haowang Guarantee). The action was executed by the FBI's San Francisco Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation as part of Operation Riptide, an ongoing FBI campaign targeting the criminal actors, infrastructure, and financial networks behind cybercrime and fraud against Americans. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated: 'Seizures of these marketplaces is critical in the fight against fraud.' U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian stated: 'We will not allow individuals or companies to exploit our country's technology to defraud hardworking Americans.' Blockchain intelligence firms Chainalysis and Elliptic, along with Google's CyberCrime Investigation Team, assisted investigators in tracing cryptocurrency flows. Elliptic's analysis concluded that across all entities — Huione Guarantee and Huione Pay — the Huione Group collectively received approximately $134 billion in cryptocurrency, making it the largest criminal marketplace and money laundering operation of its kind ever documented.","heading":"DOJ Infrastructure Seizure (June 2026)","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Justice Department Seizes Backend Infrastructure Used by the Huione Group for Money Laundering Services","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seizes-backend-infrastructure-used-huione-group-money-laundering-services"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seizes Huione Infrastructure Linked to Billions in Crypto Laundering — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/371950/doj-seizes-huione-infrastructure-linked-to-billions-in-crypto-laundering"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Behind the FBI Case Against Huione: the $134 Billion Marketplace and Money Laundering Operation — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"credibility":2,"name":"FBI Leverages Elliptic Intelligence to Take Down $134 Billion Huione Criminal Network — FFNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://ffnews.com/news/fbi-leverages-elliptic-intelligence-to-take-down-134-billion-huione-criminal-network"}]},{"content":"On October 15, 2025, the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act designating Huione Group as a foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern. The rule prohibited U.S. covered financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts or otherwise conducting business with Huione Group. FinCEN found that Huione Group laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, including approximately $37 million linked to cyber heists conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), approximately $36 million from pig-butchering investment fraud, and approximately $300 million from other cyber fraud schemes. Concurrent with the June 2026 DOJ infrastructure seizure, FinCEN issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the existing rule's definition of Huione Group to include H-Pay Service PLC, a successor entity that regulators assessed was created to circumvent the October 2025 ban. Huione Pay had previously been placed in liquidation under Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Decision No. 1081 P.N.Ch.BP on June 19, 2025, with liquidation supervised by REACHS and Partners Co., Ltd.","heading":"FinCEN Section 311 Designation and H-Pay Proposed Rule","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Register: Imposition of Special Measure Regarding Huione Group as a Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/16/2025-19571/imposition-of-special-measure-regarding-huione-group-as-a-foreign-financial-institution-of-primary"},{"credibility":2,"name":"FinCEN Bars Huione Group from Financial System — Money Laundering Watch","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.moneylaunderingnews.com/2025/10/fincen-bars-huione-group-from-financial-system/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Justice Department Seizes Backend Infrastructure Used by the Huione Group","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seizes-backend-infrastructure-used-huione-group-money-laundering-services"},{"credibility":1,"name":"U.S. and U.K. Take Largest Action Ever Targeting Cybercriminal Networks in Southeast Asia — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278"}]},{"content":"Huione Guarantee, later rebranded as Haowang Guarantee in September 2024, operated as a Telegram-based peer-to-peer escrow marketplace primarily used by criminals engaged in pig-butchering scams, romance fraud, money laundering, and related cyber fraud. The platform launched in 2021 and operated predominantly in Chinese, with transactions settled in USDT stablecoin. Merchants on the platform offered a wide range of criminal services including money laundering, stolen personal data for targeting victims, scam website templates, telecommunications equipment for fraud operations, and, according to Elliptic, physical restraints including electric shackles and batons reportedly used against trafficked workers in Southeast Asian scam compounds. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic first publicly exposed Huione Guarantee in July 2024, at which point the platform had processed over $11 billion in cryptocurrency. Chainalysis subsequently found the platform processed $70 billion in total cryptocurrency transactions across five years, representing over 20% of global crypto laundering activity in 2025 alone. By the time Telegram removed Huione's channels in May 2025, the marketplace had received more than $31 billion in cryptoasset transactions, making it more than 25 times larger than Silk Road and AlphaBay combined, according to Elliptic. Following Elliptic's July 2024 exposure, monthly cryptocurrency inflows paradoxically increased 51% and user accounts grew beyond 900,000, demonstrating the resilience of the operation in the short term.","heading":"Huione Guarantee / Haowang Guarantee: Criminal Marketplace Operations","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione: the company behind the largest ever illicit online marketplace has launched a stablecoin — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Telegram Shuts Down $27B Illicit Marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, After Elliptic's Insights — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/15/telegram-shuts-down-largest-illicit-online-marketplace-after-elliptics-insights"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Chainalysis Details DOJ Takedown of Huione's Crypto Crime Hub — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/25/chainalysis-details-doj-takedown-of-huiones-crypto-crime-hub/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Elliptic Data Leads to the Shutdown of the Two Largest Online Criminal Marketplaces of All Time — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/elliptic-data-telegram-market-takedown"}]},{"content":"U.S. regulators identified Huione Group as a significant conduit for laundering proceeds of cyber heists attributed to North Korean state-sponsored actors. FinCEN's October 2025 Section 311 designation specifically cited Huione Group's role in processing approximately $37 million linked to DPRK cyber operations between August 2021 and January 2025. The group's infrastructure was assessed to have served as one of the primary off-ramp mechanisms for North Korean-linked threat actors seeking to convert stolen cryptocurrency into usable funds. This connection to DPRK cyber activity was a key factor in FinCEN's decision to apply the rarely-used Section 311 primary money laundering concern designation, which cuts off the named entity from the U.S. financial system entirely.","heading":"North Korea (DPRK) Laundering Links","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Treasury Moves to Ban Huione Group for Laundering $4 Billion — Security Boulevard","type":"news_article","url":"https://securityboulevard.com/2025/05/treasury-moves-to-ban-huione-group-for-laundering-4-billion/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"U.S. and U.K. Take Largest Action Ever Targeting Cybercriminal Networks in Southeast Asia — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Cuts Off Huione Over $4bn Crypto Laundering, North Korea Ties, and 'Unfreezable' Stablecoin — DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-cuts-off-huione-4bn-crypto-launder-north-korea-stablecoin/"}]},{"content":"Huione Group is a Cambodian conglomerate with diversified interests spanning financial services, insurance, tourism, and real estate. The payments subsidiary Huione Pay was registered in Cambodia and held a banking license issued by the National Bank of Cambodia. Hun To, a cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and nephew of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, held a 30% ownership stake in Huione Pay, as confirmed by the company's statutes and Ministry of Commerce records from 2020. Huione's former chairman Li Xiong held 62% of Huione Pay's shares. Hun To has publicly stated he had no operational involvement, denying that he paid for his 30% share to launch operations, attended shareholder meetings, appointed representatives, received profits or dividends, participated in voting, or obtained information about company operations. Li Xiong was extradited to China in April 2026 and Cambodia revoked his citizenship. The political connections to Cambodia's ruling family drew scrutiny from international observers regarding the degree to which Huione Group may have operated with state protection or tacit tolerance.","heading":"Ownership Structure and Political Connections","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Cambodian PM's Cousin Owned 30% of Scam-Linked Huione Pay — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/cambodian-pms-cousin-owned-30-of-scam-linked-huione-pay/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Hun To Admits 30% Share in Huione but Denies Control Power — Cambodianess","type":"news_article","url":"https://cambodianess.com/article/hun-to-admits-30-share-in-huione-but-denies-control-power"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Scam-Linked Payments System Tied Directly to Cambodia's Ruling Family — UCA News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ucanews.com/news/scam-linked-payments-system-tied-directly-to-cambodias-ruling-family/113171"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Behind the FBI Case Against Huione: the $134 Billion Marketplace and Money Laundering Operation — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"}]},{"content":"Beginning in late 2024, Huione Group undertook a significant effort to build independent financial and communications infrastructure to reduce reliance on third-party platforms. In August 2024, the group launched ChatMe, a messaging application available in the Apple and Google app stores that replicated Telegram's group chat and bot features while integrating natively with Huione's own blockchain for payments. In September 2024, Huione Group launched USDH, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, explicitly marketed as 'unfreezable' and not subject to the transfer restrictions applicable to USDT and USDC. USDH was issued on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Tron, and Huione's proprietary Huione Chain (also known as Xone chain). The group also launched Huione Crypto, a dedicated exchange allowing trading between USDH and Bitcoin, Ether, TRX, SOL, and DOGE. Elliptic assessed that this buildout represented a deliberate strategy to insulate the group's criminal marketplace ecosystem from platform-level deplatforming actions of the kind that ultimately forced Telegram to remove Huione's channels in May 2025.","heading":"USDH Stablecoin and Independent Infrastructure Buildout","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione: the company behind the largest ever illicit online marketplace has launched a stablecoin — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Shadowy Marketplace Huione Launches USDH Stablecoin to Evade Scrutiny — CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/shadowy-marketplace-huione-launches-usdh-stablecoin-to-evade-scrutiny/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione, Alleged Operators of 'Largest Illicit Online Marketplace,' Launches Censorship-Resistant Stablecoin — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/334507/huione-alleged-operators-of-largest-illicit-online-marketplace-launches-censorship-resistant-stablecoin-elliptic"}]},{"content":"The DOJ's seizure announcement identified Huione Guarantee's Telegram channels as containing listings for the procurement of individuals for human trafficking schemes, in addition to the sale of stolen credit card and identity information, malware-enabled theft proceeds, and laundering services. Elliptic's research found that vendors on the platform offered electric shackles and batons, which investigators assessed were used against workers held in Southeast Asian scam compounds — facilities where trafficked individuals are allegedly forced to execute online fraud schemes under threat of physical violence. One vendor on the platform claimed connections to the Golden Fortune compound in Southeast Asia, where workers were reportedly coerced into pig-butchering scam operations. The U.S. Treasury's October 2025 joint action with the United Kingdom against Southeast Asian cybercriminal networks — which included the Huione Section 311 designation — also sanctioned the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization, led by Cambodian national Chen Zhi, which operated at least ten scam compounds in Cambodia and engaged in human trafficking and forced labor.","heading":"Human Trafficking and Scam Compound Facilitation","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Justice Department Seizes Backend Infrastructure Used by the Huione Group for Money Laundering Services","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seizes-backend-infrastructure-used-huione-group-money-laundering-services"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Behind the FBI Case Against Huione: the $134 Billion Marketplace and Money Laundering Operation — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"credibility":1,"name":"U.S. and U.K. Take Largest Action Ever Targeting Cybercriminal Networks in Southeast Asia — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278"}]},{"content":"Following the U.S. Treasury's May 2025 proposed designation (which was finalized in October 2025), Huione Pay experienced a significant bank run as customers moved to withdraw funds. The National Bank of Cambodia revoked Huione Pay's banking license in response to the institution's alleged facilitation of crypto off-ramping, money laundering, and technical support for fraudulent investment websites. Customer funds were frozen during the bank run, and Huione Pay was subsequently placed into formal liquidation under Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Decision No. 1081 P.N.Ch.BP on June 19, 2025, with liquidation supervised by REACHS and Partners Co., Ltd. The ICIJ's 'Coin Laundry' investigation, published in 2025, found that as recently as July 2025 — after the FinCEN designation proposal — Huione Group sent approximately $1 million in USDT per day to customer accounts at Binance, with ICIJ tracing over $408 million flowing from Huione to Binance customer accounts between July 2024 and July 2025. A further $226 million flowed to OKX customer accounts during the five months after OKX pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitter in February 2025.","heading":"Huione Pay Collapse, Bank Run, and Cambodian Regulatory Response","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Cambodian Payment Processor Freezes Customer Funds Before Regulators Shut It Down — ICIJ","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cambodian-payment-processor-freezes-customer-funds-before-regulators-shut-it-down/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"How ICIJ Traced Hundreds of Millions from Huione Group to Major Crypto Exchanges — ICIJ","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/how-icij-traced-hundreds-of-millions-from-huione-group-to-major-crypto-exchanges/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"NBC Revokes Huione Pay Plc's License, Issues Warning on Cryptocurrency Activities — Khmer Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501800630/nbc-revokes-huione-pay-plcs-license-issues-warning-on-cryptocurrency-activities/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Sanctioned Cambodian Lender Huione, Linked to Illicit Crypto, Faces Bank Run — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/02/sanctioned-cambodian-bank-huione-halts-business-after-mass-run-on-accounts-report"}]},{"content":"Despite the May 2025 Telegram removal and subsequent law enforcement actions, the broader ecosystem associated with Huione Guarantee demonstrated significant resilience. Chainalysis reported that following the announced closure, overall activity linked to the platform did not decline — and in some metrics increased. Merchants migrated to successor guarantee platforms including Tudou Guarantee, which processed over $12 billion in transactions before collapsing in January 2026. As of mid-2026, over 30 active competitor guarantee marketplaces remained operational, with Xinbi Guarantee having received over $24 billion in transactions. TRM Labs found that multiple successor Telegram channels and bots linked to Huione and Xinbi continued operating despite platform-level bans, underscoring the structural challenge of dismantling distributed criminal marketplace ecosystems. Chainalysis assessed that the DOJ seizure and FinCEN designation represent 'a major milestone, but not the end of guarantee-based crypto crime.'","heading":"Ecosystem Persistence and Successor Marketplaces","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione Carries On: Chinese-Language Platform's Persistence Reveals the Complexity of On-chain Financial Crime Disruption — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/huione-guarantee-still-active-despite-shutdown/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Telegram's $35B Crack Down on Crypto Scams Fails to Quell Fraud as More Platforms Pop Up — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/07/30/illicit-crypto-trade-quickly-rebounds-despite-telegram-s-shutdown-of-usd35b-huione-marketplace"},{"credibility":2,"name":"How Telegram's Ban on Huione and Xinbi Has Reshaped the Guarantee Services Landscape — TRM Labs","type":"research","url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/how-telegrams-ban-on-huione-and-xinbi-has-reshaped-the-guarantee-services-landscape"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione Group Shutdown and the Future of Crypto Scam Infrastructure — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/huione-group-shutdown-future-of-crypto-scam-infrastructure/"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Justice Department Seizes Backend Infrastructure Used by the Huione Group for Money Laundering Services","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seizes-backend-infrastructure-used-huione-group-money-laundering-services"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Federal Register: Imposition of Special Measure Regarding Huione Group as a Foreign Financial Institution of Primary Money Laundering Concern","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/16/2025-19571/imposition-of-special-measure-regarding-huione-group-as-a-foreign-financial-institution-of-primary"},{"credibility":1,"name":"U.S. and U.K. Take Largest Action Ever Targeting Cybercriminal Networks in Southeast Asia — U.S. Treasury","type":"regulatory","url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278"},{"credibility":1,"name":"ICIJ Coin Laundry: Cambodian Payment Processor Freezes Customer Funds Before Regulators Shut It Down","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cambodian-payment-processor-freezes-customer-funds-before-regulators-shut-it-down/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"ICIJ Coin Laundry: How ICIJ Traced Hundreds of Millions from Huione Group to Major Crypto Exchanges","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/how-icij-traced-hundreds-of-millions-from-huione-group-to-major-crypto-exchanges/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Behind the FBI Case Against Huione: the $134 Billion Marketplace and Money Laundering Operation — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione: the company behind the largest ever illicit online marketplace has launched a stablecoin — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The U.S. Treasury Finds Huione Group to be of Primary Money Laundering Concern Following Elliptic Research — Elliptic","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/the-u.s.-treasury-finds-huione-group-to-be-of-primary-money-laundering-concern"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Elliptic Intelligence Used by the FBI in Action Against Huione — Elliptic Media Center","type":"research","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/media-center/elliptic-intelligence-used-by-the-fbi-in-action-against-huione-group"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seizes Huione Infrastructure Linked to Billions in Crypto Laundering — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/371950/doj-seizes-huione-infrastructure-linked-to-billions-in-crypto-laundering"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Chainalysis Details DOJ Takedown of Huione's Crypto Crime Hub — CryptoTimes","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/25/chainalysis-details-doj-takedown-of-huiones-crypto-crime-hub/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione Group Shutdown and the Future of Crypto Scam Infrastructure — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/huione-group-shutdown-future-of-crypto-scam-infrastructure/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione Carries On: Chinese-Language Platform's Persistence Reveals the Complexity of On-chain Financial Crime Disruption — Chainalysis","type":"research","url":"https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/huione-guarantee-still-active-despite-shutdown/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Telegram Shuts Down $27B Illicit Marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, After Elliptic's Insights — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/15/telegram-shuts-down-largest-illicit-online-marketplace-after-elliptics-insights"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Telegram's $35B Crack Down on Crypto Scams Fails to Quell Fraud — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/07/30/illicit-crypto-trade-quickly-rebounds-despite-telegram-s-shutdown-of-usd35b-huione-marketplace"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Cambodian PM's Cousin Owned 30% of Scam-Linked Huione Pay — Protos","type":"news_article","url":"https://protos.com/cambodian-pms-cousin-owned-30-of-scam-linked-huione-pay/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Hun To Admits 30% Share in Huione but Denies Control Power — Cambodianess","type":"news_article","url":"https://cambodianess.com/article/hun-to-admits-30-share-in-huione-but-denies-control-power"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Scam-Linked Payments System Tied Directly to Cambodia's Ruling Family — UCA News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ucanews.com/news/scam-linked-payments-system-tied-directly-to-cambodias-ruling-family/113171"},{"credibility":2,"name":"FinCEN Bars Huione Group from Financial System — Money Laundering Watch","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.moneylaunderingnews.com/2025/10/fincen-bars-huione-group-from-financial-system/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Navigating FinCEN's Actions on Huione Group — Money Laundering Watch","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.moneylaunderingnews.com/2025/05/navigating-fincens-actions-on-huione-group-strengthening-defenses-against-money-laundering/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Treasury Moves to Ban Huione Group for Laundering $4 Billion — Security Boulevard","type":"news_article","url":"https://securityboulevard.com/2025/05/treasury-moves-to-ban-huione-group-for-laundering-4-billion/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"US Cuts Off Huione Over $4bn Crypto Laundering, North Korea Ties, and 'Unfreezable' Stablecoin — DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-cuts-off-huione-4bn-crypto-launder-north-korea-stablecoin/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Shadowy Marketplace Huione Launches USDH Stablecoin to Evade Scrutiny — CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/shadowy-marketplace-huione-launches-usdh-stablecoin-to-evade-scrutiny/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Huione, Alleged Operators of 'Largest Illicit Online Marketplace,' Launches Censorship-Resistant Stablecoin — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/334507/huione-alleged-operators-of-largest-illicit-online-marketplace-launches-censorship-resistant-stablecoin-elliptic"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Sanctioned Cambodian Lender Huione, Linked to Illicit Crypto, Faces Bank Run — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/02/sanctioned-cambodian-bank-huione-halts-business-after-mass-run-on-accounts-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"NBC Revokes Huione Pay Plc's License, Issues Warning on Cryptocurrency Activities — Khmer Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501800630/nbc-revokes-huione-pay-plcs-license-issues-warning-on-cryptocurrency-activities/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"How Telegram's Ban on Huione and Xinbi Has Reshaped the Guarantee Services Landscape — TRM Labs","type":"research","url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/how-telegrams-ban-on-huione-and-xinbi-has-reshaped-the-guarantee-services-landscape"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DOJ Seizes Huione Group Cloud Account Tied to Billions in Crypto Fraud — Washington Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/23/justice-dept-seizes-huione-group-cloud-account-tied-billions-crypto/"}],"summary":"Huione Group is a Cambodia-based conglomerate that operated Huione Guarantee (also known as Haowang Guarantee), a Telegram-based peer-to-peer marketplace that blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has described as the largest illicit online marketplace ever recorded, processing over $31 billion in illicit transactions since 2021. The group's payments arm, Huione Pay, received an additional $103 billion in cryptocurrency payments over its lifetime. On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice seized the cloud computing infrastructure used by Huione Group subsidiaries as part of Operation Riptide; the U.S. Treasury's FinCEN had previously designated Huione Group a primary money laundering concern in October 2025 under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act and simultaneously proposed extending the ban to successor entity H-Pay Service PLC.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-01-01","event":"Huione Guarantee marketplace launched on Telegram, operating as a peer-to-peer escrow platform primarily for criminal services settled in USDT.","source":"Elliptic / Behind the FBI Case Against Huione","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"date":"2024-07-01","event":"Elliptic publicly exposed Huione Guarantee as a criminal marketplace; at that point the platform had processed over $11 billion in cryptocurrency. Monthly inflows subsequently increased 51% following the exposure.","source":"Elliptic / Huione Largest Ever Illicit Online Marketplace","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"date":"2024-08-01","event":"Huione Group launched ChatMe, a Telegram-like messaging app integrated with its own blockchain, available in Apple and Google app stores.","source":"Elliptic / Huione Stablecoin Launch","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"date":"2024-09-01","event":"Huione Group launched USDH stablecoin, explicitly marketed as 'unfreezable' and exempt from traditional regulatory restrictions, alongside Huione Chain and Huione Crypto exchange. Huione Guarantee was rebranded as Haowang Guarantee.","source":"Elliptic / Huione Stablecoin Launch","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/huione-largest-ever-illicit-online-marketplace-stablecoin"},{"date":"2025-05-02","event":"U.S. Treasury proposed designating Huione Group as a foreign financial institution of primary money laundering concern under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.","source":"US News / US Moves to Ban Cambodia's Huione Over Alleged Money Laundering","source_url":"https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2025-05-02/us-moves-to-ban-cambodias-huione-over-alleged-money-laundering"},{"date":"2025-05-13","event":"Telegram removed Huione Guarantee (Haowang Guarantee) channels. The marketplace had processed over $27-31 billion in transactions by the time of removal, making it the largest illicit online marketplace ever recorded.","source":"CoinDesk / Telegram Shuts Down $27B Illicit Marketplace","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/15/telegram-shuts-down-largest-illicit-online-marketplace-after-elliptics-insights"},{"date":"2025-06-19","event":"Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce formally ordered Huione Pay into liquidation under Decision No. 1081 P.N.Ch.BP, supervised by REACHS and Partners Co., Ltd.","source":"ICIJ / Cambodian Payment Processor Freezes Customer Funds","source_url":"https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cambodian-payment-processor-freezes-customer-funds-before-regulators-shut-it-down/"},{"date":"2025-10-14","event":"U.S. Treasury, coordinating with the United Kingdom, took combined action against Southeast Asian cybercriminal networks. OFAC sanctioned 146 targets within the Prince Group TCO. FinCEN issued final Section 311 rule severing Huione Group from the U.S. financial system.","source":"U.S. Treasury Press Release / U.S. and U.K. Take Largest Action Ever Targeting Cybercriminal Networks","source_url":"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0278"},{"date":"2026-01-01","event":"Tudou Guarantee, a successor marketplace to which Huione merchants migrated, collapsed after processing over $12 billion in transactions.","source":"Elliptic / Behind the FBI Case Against Huione","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"date":"2026-04-01","event":"Huione Group former chairman Li Xiong was extradited to China. Cambodia revoked his citizenship.","source":"Elliptic / Behind the FBI Case Against Huione","source_url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/behind-the-fbi-case-against-huione"},{"date":"2026-06-23","event":"DOJ announced seizure of cloud computing account serving as backbone infrastructure for Huione Group subsidiaries as part of Operation Riptide. FBI San Francisco Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation executed the action. FinCEN simultaneously issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to extend the Section 311 ban to successor entity H-Pay Service PLC.","source":"U.S. Department of Justice Press Release","source_url":"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seizes-backend-infrastructure-used-huione-group-money-laundering-services"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 323ecd31-233d-4f56-a29c-ab9dec455d2dcopy