Chinese authorities have arrested Huione Group’s former chairman Li Xiong after Cambodia extradited him, following allegations the firm processed billions in illicit cryptocurrency flows.
U.S. regulators previously designated Huione as a major money laundering concern, estimating it handled at least $4 billion in illegal proceeds linked to scams and cybercrime between 2021 and 2025.
“Huione has been one of the most significant illicit finance enablers we’ve tracked in Southeast Asia,”
Said TRM Labs global head of policy, Ari Redbord.
Investigators say Huione’s payment, e-commerce and crypto services acted as infrastructure for criminal networks, enabling the movement and laundering of stolen digital assets at scale.
“What distinguishes a platform like Huione is not just volume, but its role as a hub that repeatedly appears across multiple criminal typologies,”
Redbord added.
Following the announcement the Huione Group share price was unchanged at $XX.
The arrest comes amid broader crackdowns on cyber scam operations in Southeast Asia, where organised networks run large-scale online fraud schemes targeting global victims.
Authorities warn that while enforcement actions may disrupt illicit crypto activity, such networks often adapt quickly, shifting to new platforms and methods.