Darknet Platform Huione Pay Halts Operations

Huione Pay, part of Cambodian Huione Group, halts operations, freezes payouts.

The payment business of the Cambodian conglomerate Huione Group, known as Huione Pay, has unexpectedly ceased operations and frozen payouts, according to local media.

Queues of depositors seeking to recover their assets have formed outside the company’s headquarters in Phnom Penh.

A notice on the office doors outlines Huione’s deferred payment plan, stating that the service is facing a “mass influx of withdrawal requests.” Consequently, the platform is implementing a special schedule.

Users are presented with the following options:

1. Transfer funds into “high-yield financial products” with an 18-month waiting period for the return of the full principal amount. Monthly interest payments remain available.
2. If opting out of conversion into financial products, a six-month wait is required, followed by proportional monthly withdrawals.

Huione’s offices have been closed since December 1 and will resume operations only on January 5 of the following year.

Sanctions

Earlier this year, the turnover of the fraudulent online market Huione Guarantee exceeded $24 billion, making it the largest illegal trading platform in the world.

In May, FinCEN included Huione in a list of financial organisations involved in money laundering. The regulator demanded that American financial institutions sever all ties with the platform and prohibited them from establishing or maintaining correspondent accounts for the Cambodian group.

Law enforcement claims that from 2021 to 2025, Huione processed $37 million stolen in cyberattacks orchestrated by North Korea. The company manages cryptocurrency exchanges, payment services, and its own stablecoin, which, according to Elliptic, was created to circumvent sanctions.

Telegram has also joined the fight against the criminals, having blocked the Huione Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee channels. TRM Labs called the measure ineffective.

Chainalysis analysts concluded that the sanctions also had little impact on the company’s activities. In June, experts noted that transaction volumes not only failed to decrease but actually increased.

In November, Upbit’s operator, Dunamu, announced the freezing of over 200 accounts linked to Huione, suspecting them of using cryptocurrencies for laundering.

Back in July, the darknet marketplace Abacus Market was suspected of an exit scam amounting to $12 million.