Cambodia: Huione Pay's banking license withdrawn following allegations of money laundering and illicit activities including facilitating scams; incl. co. response
"Huione Pay lost its Cambodian banking license. It says it doesn't matter.", 12 March 2025
…, Cambodia's financial regulator confirmed it revoked Huione Pay's banking license due to compliance violations, a move that might typically signal major disruption to a financial service. Yet, the controversial conglomerate insists it is business as usual.
The National Bank of Cambodia withdrew the license from Huione Pay—part of Huione Group, the company behind the illicit marketplace Haowang Guarantee (formerly Huione Guarantee)—for non-compliance with existing regulations and recommendations made by regulators, as reported …
Huione Group provides various financial and cryptocurrency-related services in Cambodia, primarily targeting Chinese-speaking clients. Huione Group entities have received at least $89 billion in cryptocurrencies to date, according to a report from Elliptic.
Its subsidiary Huione Pay operates multiple physical branches across the country, offering banking services as well as over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading, both in-office and through its banking app…
Among the services vendors offer on its platform are crypto off-ramping, money laundering and technical support for creating fake investment websites.
Additionally, it has facilitated equipment sales for scam operations throughout the region which conduct gambling, investment, and pig butchering scams.
Huione has consistently denied wrongdoing and distanced itself from transactions enabled by its platforms.
In response to the report of it losing its license, Huione Pay accused Radio Free Asia of "disseminating misinformation" and engaging in "malicious slander” in a notice posted on its Telegram channel. The company emphasised that its current business activities don’t require a banking license, and attributed the regulatory action to interference by unnamed adversaries.
Huione Pay reassured customers of its continuing international expansion, highlighting the growth of its blockchain services in Japan, South Korea, and North America, and a shift towards decentralised wallets to provide customers with enhanced services…