Blockchain analysts at British forensic firm Elliptic say Cambodia-based marketplace Huione Guarantee has become a center for crypto scammers.
Cambodian giant marketplace Huione Guarantee, partially linked to the Cambodian ruling family, has emerged as a hub for money laundering services, according to blockchain forensic firm Elliptic.
The marketplace consists of a network of Telegram channels and serves as an escrow provider for USDT transfers. Elliptic’s report claims the platform is a haven for bad actors laundering fraud proceeds. Additionally, it states that Huione’s merchants sell software to create scam crypto investment websites.
Elliptic’s analysis found that crypto wallets tied to Huione Guarantee have received over $11 billion since 2021. The firm suspects the total is higher due to the rotation of merchants and limited wallet data.
While they admit that not all transactions can be definitively linked to criminal activities, they indicate that most payments are likely related to illicit operations based on the nature of the services offered.
“Manual analysis of thousands of messages across the Huione Guarantee platform has provided us with overwhelming evidence that its predominant role is to act as an illicit marketplace.”
— Elliptic
Although Huione Guarantee has similarities to darknet marketplaces, it’s part of the larger Huione Group. One of Huione Pay’s directors, Hun To, a cousin to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, has been linked to heroin trafficking and money laundering by Australian police.
Elliptic’s findings suggest that Huione Group not only operates the Huione Guarantee marketplace but also that one of its subsidiaries is involved in laundering the proceeds from these scams.
