Tether freezes $28m in USDT linked to Cambodian fraud

Tether has reportedly frozen a Tron (TRX) wallet containing more than 28 million USDT tokens suspected to be proceeds of criminal activities, including money laundering and fraud.

An account dedicated to the real-time observation of Tron and Ethereum (ETH) stablecoins, USDT/USDC Ban List, reported on July 13 that an address, identified as TNVaKW, had been blacklisted by Tether with $28.25 million in USDT.

The wallet is suspected of being tied to the Cambodian company Huione Group. Blockchain security firm Bitrace revealed in a July 14 post on X that the frozen wallet, activated on July 9, is linked to Huione Group’s Guarantee business. 

The analysis by Bitrace further indicated that Huione was attempting to bypass the freeze by activating a new address, TQuFSv, and transferring $114,800 in USDC from the frozen TNVaKW wallet. 

Furthermore, according to Bitrace, despite Tether’s action, Huione’s other business addresses, including its old business address TL8TBp, remain operational.

Huione Guarantee linked to crypto scams

On July 10, Elliptic — another prominent crypto-tracing firm — reported on Huione Guarantee’s involvement in fraudulent activities, particularly pig-butchering scams.

According to Elliptic, the online marketplace has emerged as a major hub for scam operations in Southeast Asia and has been linked to criminal transactions totaling at least $11 billion.

Elliptic claimed that the Cambodia-based company operates as a deposit and escrow service for peer-to-peer transactions on Telegram, primarily using Tether’s USDT stablecoin. This apparently made it a favored platform for scammers and money launderers. 

Furthermore, the blockchain analysis firm alleged that Huione Guarantee was connected to Cambodia’s ruling family, including Prime Minister Hun Manet.

In response to the report, law enforcement and blockchain analysts have started working to disrupt Huone’s operations by tracking crypto transactions and identifying wallets linked to the platform.

The Tether freeze highlights these ongoing efforts to clamp down on crypto-related fraud and the intricate web of financial crimes facilitated by seemingly legitimate crypto platforms.