The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed banning Cambodia-based Huione Group from the U.S. financial system, citing its involvement in laundering illicit funds linked to North Korean cybercrime operations. FinCEN identified Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern, alleging it facilitated the laundering of between $4 billion and $24 billion in cryptocurrency derived from scams and cyber heists associated with North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The Cambodian conglomerate reportedly employed methods such as Telegram-based romance scams to facilitate these operations. Despite being contacted about the allegations, Huione Group acknowledged deficiencies in its compliance efforts but took no meaningful steps to address them. The move aims to cut off Huione Group’s access to U.S. banking channels and disrupt its role in the laundering network tied to North Korean hacker groups.
NEW: The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN is moving to sever 🇰🇭 Cambodia-based Huione Group from the U.S. financial system, citing its role in laundering up to $24B linked to 🇰🇵 North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The Telegram-based platform employed methods such as romance scams. https://t.co/lbddHQqHw2
JUST IN: FINCEN LABELS HUIONE GROUP A MAJOR MONEY LAUNDERING THREAT IN $4B CRYPTO SCAMS AND NK HEISTS Source: @cointelegraph https://t.co/TLMzeXgf6r https://t.co/hQ0z46sgwn
When Huione Group was contacted about allegations it was being used to launder money, the Cambodian conglomerate acknowledged its compliance efforts were insufficient. Yet Huione Group took no meaningful steps to address its deficiencies, @FinCENnews said. https://t.co/7Z75h6mN04