Chinese Marketplace Huione Guarantee Used to Launder $11 Billion
According to blockchain analysts at Elliptic, the Chinese marketplace Huione Guarantee is being used as a platform for laundering money from online fraud. In particular, the site is a conduit for funds from investment scams known as “pig butchering.”
What Is “Pig Butchering”?
“Pig butchering” is a relatively new type of scam. For example, the FBI first warned users about this scheme in the fall of 2022, describing it as a highly profitable tactic used by scammers worldwide. In this scheme, criminals use social engineering to contact people (“pigs”) on social networks and dating apps. Over time, they gain the victim’s trust by pretending to be friends or romantic interests, sometimes even impersonating real acquaintances.
Once trust is established, the scammers eventually persuade the victim to invest in cryptocurrency, directing them to a fake website. Unfortunately, victims are unable to recover their funds or receive any of the promised returns from these fraudulent “investments.”
Elliptic’s Findings on Huione Guarantee
According to Elliptic’s report, sellers on Huione Guarantee have conducted transactions totaling at least $11 billion, much of which is linked to cybercrime. This includes creating fake investment websites, selling personal data, and laundering money.
How Huione Guarantee Facilitates Crime
Huione Guarantee is a Chinese-language marketplace launched in 2021 and owned by the Cambodian conglomerate Huione Group. The platform’s terms of use state that it is not responsible for the goods sold. However, Huione Guarantee does provide transaction security through its escrow system, Huione Pay, actively facilitating the sale of illegal goods and services.
Researchers note that the lack of moderation, combined with a reliable payment system, has created a fertile ground for cybercriminals. On Huione Guarantee, users can buy and sell the following:
- Money laundering services for proceeds from “pig butchering” and sextortion scams (sextortion refers to blackmail involving threats to release compromising images or videos, often accompanied by spam messages demanding ransom);
- Processing payments from victims and converting them into cash, stablecoins, or credits in Chinese payment apps;
- Creation of fraudulent websites for fake crypto investments used in “pig butchering” schemes;
- AI-powered face-swapping software for communicating with victims;
- Stolen personal data, including contact information, to find new targets;
- Telecommunications equipment to facilitate fraudulent operations.
Huione Guarantee’s Role in Money Laundering
Elliptic experts claim that Huione Guarantee essentially operates as a darknet marketplace and even involves its own employees in money laundering operations. Their research indicates that Huione Group not only enables cybercrime by running Huione Guarantee, but that one of its subsidiaries is actively involved in laundering the proceeds from these schemes.
For example, researchers observed a request in a chat group on the platform to help launder $2 million obtained through fraud. A representative of Huione International Payments, part of Huione Pay, responded and agreed to process the transaction for a 10.5% commission.
Global Impact and Law Enforcement Response
Elliptic believes that Huione Guarantee is currently one of the key scam operators in Southeast Asia. Evidence suggests that the marketplace’s payment system is “actively involved in laundering criminal proceeds from around the world.”
Analysts have identified hundreds of cryptocurrency addresses controlled by Huione companies and sellers on Huione Guarantee. Researchers hope that crypto exchanges and law enforcement agencies will use this data to track payments and combat money laundering.