The U.S. Treasury is set to prohibit Cambodian financial firm Huione Group from accessing the U.S. financial system. The Treasury will cite its designation as a “primary money laundering concern” due to its purported involvement in laundering proceeds from cyber crimes and online frauds.
On Thursday, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a proposal to cut Huione’s U.S. financial system access. The measure would prohibit U.S. firms from opening or maintaining correspondent banking accounts for or on behalf of Huione.
The proposal has officially entered a 30-day consultation period, allowing stakeholders to provide input and feedback.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Huione Group, located in Phnom Penh, has emerged as a preferred platform for malicious cyber actors, including North Korean operatives and criminal syndicates, who have reportedly pilfered billions of dollars from American citizens.
Huione Group has yet to respond to a request for comment regarding the FinCEN proposal, which was sent on Friday.
FinCEN has reported that Huione Group was laundering a minimum of $4 billion in illicit funds from August 2021 to January 2025. This figure includes at least $37 million in cryptocurrency linked to cyber heists attributed to North Korea and $36 million in crypto derived from “pig butchering” scams, a fraudulent scheme targeting individuals contacted online.
FinCEN’s proposal referenced a Reuters report from the previous year, which revealed that Huione Pay, a subsidiary of Huione Group, received cryptocurrency valued at more than $150,000 from a digital wallet associated with the North Korean hacking group Lazarus between June 2023 and February 2024.
Huione Pay responded to Reuters regarding its 2024 report, stating that it was unaware of having “received funds indirectly” from hacks attributed to Lazarus. The company emphasized that they did not manage the digital wallet responsible for sending the funds.
The United Nations has previously stated that cryptocurrency transfers enable North Korea to bypass international sanctions, providing a means to acquire prohibited goods and services.
The North Korean mission to the United Nations in Geneva has not responded to Reuters’ inquiries. The mission previously informed Reuters that coverage regarding Lazarus was characterized as “entirely speculation and misinformation.”