For the last few months, Apple and Google’s app stores have hosted apps developed by Huione Group, a Cambodia-based company accused of operating the largest dark web marketplace to date.
According to crypto crime trackers Elliptic and Chainalysis, Huione Group is behind Huione Guarantee, a Telegram-based platform for money laundering services and other tools designed to assist fraudsters. Elliptic reported on Tuesday that the platform facilitated up to $24 billion in sales, making it “the largest illicit online marketplace to have ever operated.” This figure surpasses notorious drug markets like Silk Road and Hydra, the latter generating $5 billion in sales and ranking as the second-largest illegal marketplace, according to Elliptic.
In addition to the Guarantee marketplace, Huione Group operates other services, including a payment app, a crypto exchange, and a mobile messaging platform. It remains unclear whether these platforms have been used for fraudulent activities. Chainalysis also noted that Huione Group offers legitimate products, such as insurance and luxury travel services.
Elliptic CEO Tom Robinson commented, “I think Google and Apple should consider whether Huione Group is an appropriate business to be distributing apps through their platforms.”
When contacted, Google confirmed the removal of all the apps on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, Apple had taken down the crypto exchange app but declined to comment. Other Huione Group apps remain available on the App Store.
Neither Telegram nor Huione Group responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
The Guarantee marketplace is reportedly a sprawling network of thousands of Telegram channels, each managed by individual merchants, many of whom promote fraud-related products, according to Elliptic and Chainalysis. “Our researchers identified thousands of vendors on the platform, offering money laundering services, stolen personal data, technology, and other items essential for large-scale online fraud,” Elliptic noted in its report.
Huione Guarantee functions as a guarantor or escrow service, charging a fee for each transaction. The platform claims neutrality and states in disclaimers on Chinese-language websites that it is unaware of the nature of its users’ transactions.
Elliptic’s research highlights that users of Huione Guarantee offer a range of fraud-supporting products, particularly for scams such as pig butchering, where victims are deceived into investing in fake crypto platforms that promise high returns but never deliver. One vendor was reportedly offering electrified shackles for use on scam center workers, many of whom are trafficked into the country, according to previous reports.
“The marketplace appears to be a key enabler of transnational organized crime groups perpetrating scams against victims worldwide,” Elliptic added.
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