The U.S. Department of Justice has struck a blow against the infrastructure of the "crypto laundering" Huione Group: key servers have been seized.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a large-scale operation to seize the cloud infrastructure that served the criminal ecosystem of Huione Group. This involves the confiscation of an account that supported the operation of servers used for laundering funds obtained from crypto scams, cyberattacks, and other types of illegal activities.
The investigation established that entire channels and platforms specializing in conducting illegal financial transactions operated through the Huione Group infrastructure. In particular, related Telegram channels actively advertised services for money laundering, selling stolen personal data, and supporting fraudulent call centers. These are not just isolated incidents, but a systematic effort to provide "shadow" banking for cybercriminals.
One of the Largest Centers of Crypto Crime
Huione Group has long been under close scrutiny by U.S. regulators. As early as 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury 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 illegal funds passed through the group's structures. This amount included money from cryptocurrency fraud, cyberattacks attributed to North Korean hackers, and other criminal schemes.
The ecosystem included services such as the Huione Pay payment system, the Huione Crypto platform, and the Haowang Guarantee marketplace (formerly Huione Guarantee). Analysts called the latter the largest illegal online platform for servicing crypto scammers. In effect, it was an "Amazon" for fraudsters, where one could buy everything—from ready-made phishing scripts to services for cashing out stolen coins.
Pressure on Fraudsters' Infrastructure Intensifies
The seizure of server infrastructure is not just another arrest. It is a strategic blow to the very foundation of transnational fraud networks in Southeast Asia. The Justice Department emphasized that the goal of the operation is not to prosecute individual criminals, but to completely destroy the infrastructure that supports the entire crypto scam ecosystem.
For comparison, according to a Chainalysis report, in 2025, over $154 billion flowed into illegal crypto wallets—a 162% increase compared to 2024. This means that combating giants like Huione Group is becoming not just desirable, but critically necessary to preserve the integrity of the cryptocurrency market.
Expert commentary from Cryptalist: The seizure of Huione Group's infrastructure is a powerful signal to the entire "shadow" crypto sector. However, given that tens of billions of dollars pass through such networks annually, and the group itself operates from jurisdictions with lenient regulations, I expect similar structures to quickly reorganize. The key question now is whether the U.S. Department of Justice can cut off financial flows effectively enough to deprive fraudsters of the ability to quickly create new "laundries."