Phnom Penh-based Huione Pay was seen taking down its signage on Wednesday, six days after the U.S. Treasury flagged its parent, Huione Group, as a primary money laundering concern and moved to cut it off from the U.S. financial system.
On May 1, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Treasury, proposed a rule to sever Huione Group’s access to the U.S. financial system over its alleged role in laundering funds from cyber heists and online scams.
The move followed extensive media reports and investigations linking the firm to money laundering networks tied to transnational crime groups in Southeast Asia dealing in online scams and cyber theft operations attributed to North Korea.
FinCEN found Huione Group laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025. The conglomerate also runs several “Huione”-branded services, including marketplaces and finance apps. One Telegram-based platform has been linked to as much as $24 billion in suspected illicit transactions.
“Huione Group has established itself as the marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors like the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the report.
Huione Pay began removing its signage as early as May 6, CamboJA News reporters observed, noting scaffolding and the dismantling of the company’s logo.
The firm, headquartered in Phnom Penh, also operates branches in Battambang, Poipet, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. It previously advertised a location in Laukkaing, a hub for investment scams in Myanmar’s Kokang region, before crackdowns last year shuttered many such operations, according to FinCEN.
Huione Group also lists Hun To, a cousin of Prime Minister Hun Manet, who has faced contentious allegations of involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering, but has denied the claims and pursued defamation lawsuits over the reports, as one of its directors.
When CamboJA News called the number listed on Huione Pay’s official Facebook page, a man who did not identify himself said the company was “just repainting” and not relocating, adding it was “operating as usual.”
In March, the National Bank reportedly told Radio Free Asia it had revoked Huione Pay’s license to provide payment services over regulatory non-compliance.
The Ministry of Interior did not respond to questions about whether authorities were investigating Huione Pay. Secretary of State Por Pheak did, however, assert that Cambodia has taken steps to combat money laundering, citing the Re-evaluation Program Group (RPG).
According to Pheak, the RPG recorded 177 money laundering cases in 2024, down from 324 the previous year.
The National Bank of Cambodia did not immediately respond to CamboJA News’ request for comment.
Notably, other Cambodian entities blacklisted by the U.S. have taken similar steps to seemingly obscure their operations.
After the U.S. sanctioned ruling party senator and tycoon Ly Yong Phat in September, many of his firms or those linked to his family vanished from business registries, deleted websites and removed signs from office locations.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at local rights group Licadho, said fronts for laundering illicit funds are nothing new in Cambodia.
He warned that continued inaction and lack of transparency could undermine the country’s development.
“All these problems have seriously damaged the image of the government and Cambodia,” he said. “The authorities must investigate this clearly, transparently and fairly – in a way that builds trust.”
