On May 1, 2025, FinCEN issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act that identifies Cambodia-based Huione Group as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern and proposes to sever its access to the U.S. financial system.
According to FinCEN, Huione Group plays a key role in laundering money from cyber thefts linked to North Korea and from international crime groups in Southeast Asia that run scams involving convertible virtual currency (CVC). One common scam is known as “pig butchering.” Because of the money laundering risks tied to Huione Group, FinCEN wants to stop U.S. financial institutions from opening or keeping accounts for them.
FinCEN’s proposed rule would prohibit the opening or maintaining of a correspondent account in the United States for, or on behalf of, Huione Group. It also would require covered financial institutions to apply special due diligence to their foreign correspondent accounts that is reasonably designed to guard against their use to process transactions involving Huione Group.
Read FinCEN’s press release here.
The NPRM can be found here.