- Huione Guarantee has been associated with a scam network that has stolen roughly $11 billion from victims
- According to blockchain researcher Elliptic, most of the funds are from pig butchering scams and malicious actors trying to move their ill-gotten wealth
- The funds are moved in Tether (USDT)
Huione Group-operated Huione Guarantee has been caught facilitating scamming activities by helping malicious actors advertise their services, move illicit funds and siphon funds from victims. Blockchain research firm Elliptic unearthed the scam network noting that it deals mostly with powering pig butchering scams. According to Elliptic, many merchants on the online marketplace are those offering “money laundering services, including accepting payments from victims around the world,” something that provides scammers and hackers an easy way to move stolen funds instead of using crypto mixing services like Tornado Cash.
Products and Services Advertised Point to Illicit Activity
Apart from offering money laundering services, merchants on the marketplace also offer other services like developing websites for scammers. Some of the merchants also sell things like electric batons used to torture people held in compounds to facilitate the scams.
The blockchain researcher disclosed that crypto wallets linked to Huione Guarantee and its users have moved more than $11 billion since 2021. Although Elliptic noted that not all the funds can be associated with fraudulent activities, it said that the “nature of the products and services advertised […] provide very strong indications” that most of the funds “relate to illicit activity.”
Elliptic added that it has analyzed “thousands of messages” across the online marketplace which point to it being a scammers’ haven.
Over $100 Million from Pig Butchering Scams Seized
Pig butchering scams have been on the rise over the years with Asian countries being among the most affected. A year ago, the Philippine police busted a human trafficking operation involving pig butchering. The DoJ has also in the past seized over $100 million link to the scam.
With Huione Guarantee linked with facilitated crypto scams, it’s to be seen whether merchants on the platform will move to another platform or whether the online marketplace will put measures to curb such activities.
