Huione Group, which has been implicated in cyber fraud, has managed to get some of its crypto apps on Apple and Google’s marketplaces. (Photo credit: Jaap Arrians/NurPhoto, Getty Images)
NurPhoto (from Getty Images)
For the past few months, Apple and Google’s app stores have hosted apps developed by Huione Group, a Cambodia-based company accused on Tuesday of running the largest dark web market in history.
According to crypto crime trackers Elliptic and Chainalysis, Fuione Group is behind Fuione Guarantee, a Telegram-based marketplace that offers money laundering services and other tools aimed at supporting fraudsters. Elliptic announced Tuesday that it has generated $24 billion in sales through its platform, making it the “largest illegal online marketplace ever operated.” It’s bigger than notorious drug markets like Silk Road and Hydra. The latter, with sales of $5 billion, is the second-best performing illegal bazaar, writes Elliptic.
Alongside the Guarantee Marketplace, Huione Group also operates a number of other services, including payment apps, cryptocurrency exchanges, and mobile messaging services. It is unclear whether any of them were used in the fraud. As Chainaracy points out, Huione Group also offers a number of regular products, from insurance to luxury travel.
“I think Google and Apple should consider whether Huione Group is the right company to distribute apps through their platforms,” Elliptic CEO Tom Robinson told Forbes.
Google removed all apps when asked for comment, a spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, Apple had shut down its cryptocurrency exchanges and declined to comment. Other Huione Group apps are still listed in the App Store at the time of publication.
Neither Telegram nor Huione Group responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
According to Elliptic and Chainalysis, the Guarantee Marketplace is made up of a vast network of thousands of Telegram channels, each run by a different seller, many of which push scam-related products. “Our researchers have identified thousands of vendors on the platform that provide money laundering services, stolen personal data, technology, and other items needed to commit online fraud on an industrial scale.” Elliptic said in a report Tuesday.
Huione Academic acts as a type of guarantor or escrow provider and receives a commission on each transaction. The company claims to be neutral, with a disclaimer on its Chinese-language website saying it doesn’t know what users are selling.
According to Elliptic research, Huione Guarantee users offer a wide range of products that support fraud, particularly pig butchering. Victims are tricked into investing in fake crypto platforms that promise large profits but never pay out. According to previous reports, one seller was found to be providing electrified shackles for use by fraud center employees. Many of its employees are said to have been trafficked into the country.
“This market appears to be a key driver for transnational organized crime groups defrauding victims around the world,” Elliptic added.
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