Tether freezes $28m in USDT linked to Cambodian fraud

Tether has reportedly frozen a Tron (TRX) wallet containing over 28 million USDT tokens believed to have been obtained through criminal activities such as money laundering and fraud.

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

TNVaKWQzau7xL9bcnvLmF9KSEQkWEs4Ug8
Timestamp: 12.07.2024, 23:21:36 UTC
Event: AddedBlackList
Balance: 28,257,162.94 USDT (TRC20)https://t.co/Whl97I1K7m

— USDT/USDC Ban List (@USDTBanList) July 12, 2024

The wallet is suspected to be affiliated with Cambodian firm Huione Group. Blockchain security firm Bitrace explained in a July 14 post on X that the frozen wallet, which was activated on July 9, was affiliated with Huione Group’s Garanti business.

The analysis by Bitrace also noted that Huione attempted to bypass the freeze by activating a new address, TQuFSv, and transfer $114,800 worth of USDC from the frozen TNVaKW wallet.

According to Bitrace, despite Tether’s action, Huione’s other business addresses continue to operate, including his old business address TL8TBp.

Huione Guarantee linked to crypto scams

On July 10, Elliptic, another prominent cryptocurrency tracking firm, reported that Huione Guarantee was involved in fraudulent activities, specifically the pig slaughter scam.

A new study by the Elliptic research team sheds light on online marketplace Huione Guarantee. The platform is widely used by scam operators in Southeast Asia, including: #pigslaughter scam. Read the full analysis ➡️ https://t.co/p9tqquGhJ6

— Elliptic (@elliptic) July 10, 2024

The online marketplace has become a major hub for fraudulent operations in Southeast Asia and has been linked to at least $11 billion in criminal transactions, according to Elliptic.

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 has apparently made it a preferred platform for scammers and money launderers.

The blockchain analysis firm also claimed that Huione Guarantee has connections to Cambodia’s ruling family, including Prime Minister Hun Manet.

In response to the report, law enforcement and blockchain analysts began working to disrupt Huone’s operations by monitoring crypto transactions and identifying wallets connected to the platform.

The Tether freeze highlights ongoing efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency-related scams and the complex web of financial crimes facilitated by seemingly legitimate crypto platforms.