Elliptic Exposes $11 Billion Huione Guarantee’s Cyber Scam

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As an experienced financial analyst, I find the recent investigation into Huione Guarantee deeply concerning. The platform’s apparent legitimacy as a real estate and car marketplace in Cambodia is nothing more than a facade. Instead, it functions as a breeding ground for cyber scams and money laundering operations.

Huione Guarantee, a subsidiary of the Huione Group based in Cambodia, made its debut in 2021 as a potential hotspot for real estate and car transactions. At first glance, it gave off an air of legitimacy. However, beneath this veneer, there exists a hidden and shady realm. According to Elliptic’s latest findings, the platform has handled transactions worth over $11 billion, primarily linked to cyber frauds and money laundering schemes.

As an analyst, I’ve discovered a vast Chinese-language ecosystem teeming with thousands of instant messaging app channels, each overseen by a unique merchant. Notably, Huione Guarantee plays a dual role in managing this platform and serving as an escrow provider. By assuming this role, Huione Guarantee ensures the security of transactions and safeguards its users against potential fraudulent activities.

As an analyst, I’d like to share some insights from a recent investigation conducted by the Elliptic research team into the online marketplace Huione Guarantee. This platform has gained notoriety in South East Asia for being frequently used by fraudsters, among them those involved in pig butchering scams. For a comprehensive understanding of our findings, I invite you to read the full analysis.

— Elliptic (@elliptic) July 10, 2024

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Although marketed as impartial, Huione Guarantee reportedly enables illicit transactions totalling over $11 billion. This amount is attributed to cryptocurrency wallets connected to Huione and its vendors since their establishment. However, the actual sum may exceed this figure, considering the continual departure of merchants from the platform and incomplete records of wallet data.

Although not every transaction on the platform can be definitively linked to illegal activities, the preponderance of evidence strongly suggests that the platform is primarily used for cybercrimes.

Merchants on Huione openly promote themselves as providers of money laundering solutions, offering services such as cross-border transactions and conversions into various assets like cash, stablecoins, and Chinese payment apps. They make it clear which types of ill-gotten gains they are prepared to deal with, demonstrating their understanding of the associated risks.

As a researcher delving into the world of cryptocurrency, my investigation has uncovered and tagged approximately hundreds of digital wallet addresses linked to Huione in Elliptic’s analytical resources. These discoveries serve as compelling evidence of Huione Guarantee’s pivotal role in facilitating cybercrime activities across Southeast Asia. By laundering ill-gotten gains on a worldwide scale, they significantly contribute to the intricately connected web of global financial fraud.

As a diligent analyst, I cannot stress enough the importance of intensifying our examination and imposing stricter governance over these platforms in light of this revelation. The potential for illicit activities on unregulated grounds is a significant concern that warrants immediate attention.

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2024-07-10 15:48