Cambodia’s Huione Guarantee Enables Global Scams Worth $11 Billion: Report

As an experienced financial analyst, I find the allegations against Huione Guarantee, a Cambodian online platform linked to the nation’s ruling family, deeply concerning. The reported $11 billion in scams facilitated through this platform is alarming and underscores the importance of transparency and regulatory oversight in digital finance.

The Huione Guarantee, an online financial platform based in Cambodia with connections to the country’s ruling family, serves as a marketplace for global scams, such as pig-butchering schemes, worth approximately $11 billion according to Wired’s investigation and data from crypto-tracing firm Elliptic.

As a crypto investor, I’ve come across some risky platforms that claim to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions through Telegram messaging system. Wired reportedly pointed out that such platforms may offer services that could put investors in harm’s way, like deepfake scams, money laundering, and pig butchering. In pig butchering, an unsuspecting investor is lured into a false relationship with someone who eventually drains their finances. It’s crucial to exercise caution and due diligence when dealing with such platforms to avoid falling prey to these potential threats.

Individuals predominantly conduct transactions utilizing Tether (USDT), the most widely-used stablecoin. Due to its traceability on the blockchain, Elliptic was capable of tracking these financial movements.

Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s co-founder and chief scientist, shared with Wired his belief that Huione Guarantee may not have been initially intended to serve as a hub for online scammers, but it has undeniably taken on that role in the present day.

Huione Guarantee is connected to the Huione Group, a significant business conglomerate based in Cambodia with ties to the influential Hun family, which counts Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, among its members.

As a researcher, I attempted to contact Huione Guarantee officials through their listed Telegram addresses and via email after business hours in Cambodia. However, both methods proved unsuccessful, as the Telegram channels were closed and my email went unanswered. Similarly, an email was sent to the Council of Ministers of Cambodia’s office outside of their normal working hours, but I did not receive a response.

“Huiwang Guarantee acts solely as an intermediary in transactions, facilitating the exchange of goods for payment. We do not engage in or have any involvement with the underlying businesses of our clients, and therefore hold no responsibility for the quality or legitimacy of the goods or services being traded.”

In May, a group of tech companies such as Coinbase, Kraken, Meta, Ripple, Tinder, and Hinge came together to create the “Tech Against Scams” coalition, with the goal of shielding their users from fraudulent activities.

As a financial analyst, I’ve come across some concerns regarding USDT, a popular stablecoin, raised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in their report published in January. The UNODC pointed out USDT as a potential tool for money laundering activities. However, Tether, the issuer of USDT, contested this claim and stated that the stablecoin had been unfairly singled out.

When blockchain investigators decide to make their discoveries known without directly contacting the involved parties, it can lead to a “bystander syndrome,” causing individuals and businesses to merely document the misconduct for public attention instead of taking immediate action to address the issue. A Tether representative expressed this viewpoint today.