The U.S. Department of Justice has dealt a devastating blow to the "crypto laundering" Huione Group: key server infrastructure seized.
The U.S. Department of Justice has officially announced the takedown of a cloud account that supported the server infrastructure used by entities linked to the Huione Group. This account was a critical node for the operation of platforms and channels involved in the transfer and laundering of funds obtained from crypto scams and other forms of cybercrime.
The investigation established that the Huione Group ecosystem provided a wide range of services for organizers of investment fraud, cryptocurrency thefts, trading of personal data, and management of fraudulent call centers. In particular, related Telegram channels actively advertised services for money laundering and the sale of stolen information. This was not just a single service, but an entire industry built on servicing the criminal sector.
Scale of the disaster: $4 billion and a global network
The Huione Group has long been under close scrutiny by U.S. regulators. As early as 2025, FinCEN designated the company as a "primary money laundering concern," effectively cutting it off from the U.S. financial system. According to the agency's estimates, from August 2021 to January 2025, at least $4 billion in illicit funds passed through the group's structures. This sum included money from cryptocurrency fraud, cyberattacks by North Korean hackers, and other criminal schemes.
The ecosystem included the payment service Huione Pay, the cryptocurrency platform Huione Crypto, and the marketplace Haowang Guarantee (formerly Huione Guarantee). Analysts described the latter as the world's largest illegal online platform for servicing crypto scammers. The seizure of the server infrastructure is not just the closure of one website, but the destruction of the technological foundation on which this entire criminal network was built.
A new era of combat: from prosecution to infrastructure destruction
This operation marks a shift in the strategy of U.S. authorities. The Justice Department emphasized that their goal is not only to prosecute individual criminals but also to completely destroy the infrastructure supporting the entire crypto scam ecosystem. This is a logical step, given that, according to a Chainalysis report, over $154 billion flowed into illicit cryptocurrency wallets in 2025—an increase of 162% compared to 2024.
Expert commentary: This precedent sends a powerful signal to all market participants. The protection offered under the guise of "crypto laundries" in Southeast Asia no longer works. U.S. regulators have demonstrated that they are ready to attack not only financial flows but also technical infrastructure, making the operation of such businesses economically unviable. The next step will likely be increased pressure on cloud service providers who inadvertently become accomplices in such schemes.