Involvement of Cambodian Elite
Corporate records reveal that Hun To, the nephew of Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet, is a director in one of Huione's subsidiaries. This connection has raised concerns about the involvement of high-ranking officials in organized crime. Authorities have noted that these crime groups coerce thousands of individuals into executing crypto scams.
Despite the Cambodian government's declared intent to curb the surge of crypto-related fraud, new evidence suggests complicity within the prime minister's family.
The Scale of the Scam
Elliptic's report indicates that crypto wallets associated with Huione Guarantee and its merchants have received over $11 billion since 2021. The site facilitates transactions for merchants openly offering money laundering services and tools to construct fraudulent schemes known as "pig butchering" scams.
Direct Links to Fraud
Hun To is also a director in a Cambodian conglomerate linked to Huione Group, which has been implicated in crypto fraud activities. While not all transactions traced by Elliptic are confirmed to be illicit, the firm asserts that the majority indicate illegal activities. Merchants on Huione's platform offer services to launder money, accept payments globally, and convert assets across borders into cash, stablecoins, or Chinese payment apps.
Requests for comments from Huione’s media representatives and Hun To went unanswered.
Industrial-Scale Fraud
The operation showcases the industrial scale of crypto fraud in Southeast Asia. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported in January that over $17 billion in USDT, a stablecoin issued by Tether, is connected to illegal trades and underground crypto exchanges.
Investigations by DL News have revealed how crime groups run operations in special economic zones in Cambodia and Myanmar, coercing thousands into online crypto fraud.
Huione Guarantee's Role
Huione Guarantee functions as a central hub for numerous instant messaging app channels in Chinese, each run by a different merchant. The platform acts as an escrow service to ostensibly prevent fraud, with most payments made in USDT.
One ad found on a Telegram channel by DL News sought fleets of trucks, a code for money laundering operations designed to obscure the origins of illicit transactions. The ad indicated a daily transaction goal of 1,500 to 50,000 USDT.
In a related investigation, blockchain analytics firm Slowmist identified Huione as an intermediary for collecting ransom payments from families of people forced into labor by the Northern Myanmar Alliance Army.
From Luxury Services to Fraud
Founded in 2014, Huione started as a provider of luxury services to wealthy Chinese and Cambodians, later branching into a payment app enterprise, Huione Pay. The company's subsidiaries are now entrenched in Cambodia's financial sector. Huione Pay's headquarters in Phnom Penh, marked by distinctive black-and-gold panda statues, blend in with the city’s financial district yet have strict security, including a no-guns policy.
Political Connections
Hun To’s involvement extends beyond Huione Guarantee. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Huione Life Insurance. His father, the late brother of Cambodia’s former dictator Hun Sen, positions him within a powerful political family, with Hun Sen stepping down in 2023 for his son, Hun Manet.
This scandal highlights the intersection of organized crime and political power, complicating efforts to combat crypto fraud in Cambodia.
