U.S. Treasury Moves to Cut Off Cambodian Firm Huione Group Over Billions in Laundered Criminal Funds

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has accused Cambodian financial services conglomerate Huione Group (HG) of laundering billions of dollars for international criminal networks, including entities tied to North Korea. In a bold enforcement step, FinCEN has proposed to sever the company from any access to the U.S. financial system, citing significant money laundering risks.

Under FinCEN’s proposed action, American banks would be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts for HG. These types of accounts are crucial conduits in global finance, allowing one financial institution to conduct transactions—such as currency exchange or wire transfers—on behalf of another. If finalized, this move would place HG under what is known as “Special Measure Five,” the most severe tool available under FinCEN’s authority.

The proposal, announced in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on May 1, is now subject to a 30-day public comment period before a final determination is made.

“Huione Group has established itself as the marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors like the DPRK and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press release issued the same day. “Today’s proposed action will sever Huione Group’s access to correspondent banking, degrading these groups’ ability to launder their ill-gotten gains,” Bessent said.

According to FinCEN’s investigation, Huione Group—despite having some legitimate business operations in Cambodia—has facilitated the laundering of at least $4 billion from August 2021 through January 2025. The illicit funds are largely tied to cyber-enabled fraud, online investment scams orchestrated by Southeast Asian crime groups, and the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-backed hacking collective previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

While Huione Group does not directly hold correspondent accounts with U.S. financial institutions, FinCEN said the firm interacts with foreign banks that do. Transactions processed through these foreign banks’ U.S. correspondent accounts draw the American financial system into HG’s illicit activity. The agency emphasized that its proposed prohibition would “most effectively mitigate the risks” posed by HG’s involvement in large-scale money laundering.

Further raising red flags, FinCEN highlighted Huione Group’s glaring absence of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance protocols. The company, according to the agency, has acknowledged the lack of such safeguards, and none of its entities have published internal policies on financial crime prevention. The group reportedly holds only a U.S. post office box address and has no physical presence within the country.

“FinCEN assesses that the benefits of any legitimate business activities Huione Group conducts are outweighed by the substantial money laundering risks it poses,” the agency stated in the NPRM.

This aggressive move by FinCEN comes at a time when the Trump administration’s Treasury Department has been easing off other sanctions targeting crypto platforms. In March, it lifted prior sanctions on Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer accused by previous administrations of facilitating laundering for the Lazarus Group.

Secretary Bessent noted that the proposed action followed consultations with the U.S. attorney general, secretary of state, and other relevant officials before declaring HG a primary money laundering concern.

The decision signals a hardening stance against financial intermediaries seen as enablers of global cybercrime and rogue state operations, despite recent policy shifts on digital asset sanctions.

By fLEXI tEAM