By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
FINCEN has issued a ‘final rule’ which will cut Cambodian financial firm Huione Group off from the U.S. financial system, the organization has said.
The measure bans U.S. financial institutions from dealing with Huione.
The rule also states: “Covered financial institutions [must] apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts, that is reasonably designed to guard against the use of such accounts to process transactions involving Huione Group.”
FinCEN said the measures “prevent indirect access by Huione Group to the U.S. financial system”.
Huione is a Cambodian financial conglomerate. Among other operations, it runs a prominent online marketplace, which processes billions in transactions every year.
In May, U.S. officials designated Huione as an organization of “primary money laundering concern” over its alleged role in laundering illicit funds from online scams.
U.S. officials claim the organization laundered at least $4 billion worth of illicit funds between August 2021 and January 2025.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Huione Group is the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors”. He said this includes the likes of North Korea and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from Americans.
The move came as the U.S. and UK both announced a major crackdown today against international criminal networks.
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