Unraveling Huione Guarantee, the Criminal Ecosystem Laundering the World’s Money

In March, the New York Times reported on Huione Group, a “legitimate” corporation in Southeast Asia with satellite companies worldwide, linking it to Huione Guarantee—a sprawling ecosystem of Telegram channels dedicated to laundering money for transnational criminal and terrorist organizations. According to a Chainalysis report, “Huione and the vendors operating on their platform have processed more than $70 billion in crypto transactions since 2021”.

Analysts at CACI’s DarkBlue Intelligence Suite first reported on Huione Guarantee in January of this year, highlighting the platform’s staggering dominance in the money laundering ecosystem. They also revealed its sophisticated methods for moving users off Telegram to proprietary platforms and its clear ties to cartels and human trafficking.

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Who is Huione Guarantee?

Huione Guarantee (rebranded as “HaoWang Guarantee” in October of last year) is a gray market hub for online scams, hosting over 160,000 monthly users. The platform has been linked to money laundering, fraud, and romance scams, facilitating transactions worth billions of dollars. Operating primarily via Telegram and its own website, it offers "guarantee services" for third-party merchants alongside modules for dispute resolution, group management, and advertisement buying. Services include financial transactions mediated via TRX tokens and advanced group administrative capabilities.

The operators maintain a robust presence across dark web platforms with multilingual capabilities targeting global users. They integrate tools like Huione Crypto (based in Poland) with Cambodia-based Huione Pay to offer global services. This model mirrors sophisticated online scam hubs by leveraging automation, resource allocation, and marketplace integrations.

Figure 1: Services offered by Huione/HaoWang Guarantee

Although initial customer connections are made via Telegram, Huione actively pushes users toward its native app, ChatMe—a Chinese-born messaging application that mimics Telegram but incorporates crypto payment features through proprietary apps like Huione Crypto and Huione Pay. These features enable users to trade stablecoins within the platform, complicating asset-tracing and facilitating illicit transactions with ease.

Figure 2: ChatMe in the app store

Figure 3: Huione Pay in the app store

Huione Group has even created its own US Dollar-backed stablecoin, USDH, motivated by the need to avoid asset freezes that impact traditional stablecoins like Tether (USDT). USDH is now used extensively by Huione users, helping them circumvent regulatory restrictions and maintain anonymity.

This level of operational sophistication underscores why cyber security professionals must rely on advanced solutions like open source dark web monitoring and OSINT tools to track platforms like Huione Guarantee effectively.

Why the rebrand?

In October of last year, Huione Guarantee rebranded to “HaoWang Guarantee” in an attempt to distance itself from the more “legitimate” Huione Group corporation.

The platform also updated its policies, explicitly stating that third-party merchants are responsible for all transactions in a clear attempt to distance itself from involvement in illegal activities. It added defensive language, emphasizing that transactions like the sale of “detention equipment” do not necessarily indicate involvement in illegal acts like human trafficking but could instead be used for purposes like “public security interrogation.”

Figure 4: Public disclaimer from HaoWang Guarantee

However, this disclaimer does little to mask its integration with fraudulent marketplaces and illicit activities globally. The presence of trafficked individuals and tools such as electrified shackles further demonstrate the platform's role in human exploitation, extending its impact beyond financial crime to severe human rights violations. Reports from independent researchers confirm the platform's integration into gray market scam ecosystems, noting a direct role in facilitating substantial volumes of fraudulent transactions, including money laundering, personal data trafficking, and industrial-scale fraud schemes like "pig butchering" scams. The recent rebranding and policy changes appear to be surface-level adjustments intended to mitigate international scrutiny rather than genuine efforts to curtail criminal activities.

How much money are we talking?

Huione/HaoWang Guarantee’s integration with crypto-related products—including its own USD-pegged stablecoin and blockchain-based services—has significantly enhanced its operational efficiency while offering anonymity for illicit actors to the tune of transactions surpassing $70 billion.

Huione's operations span Europe, Asia, South America, and Central America. Its role in laundering proceeds from scams like pig butchering underscores its significance in global financial crime networks. With over $70 billion processed since 2021—and at least $24 billion directly linked to illicit activities—it dwarfs other illicit marketplaces such as Hydra.

Unverified reports have also linked Huione Guarantee to cartel activity, particularly Mexican cartels that increasingly rely on Asian groups for money laundering. Cartels have increasingly turned to platforms like Huione due to their ability to obscure financial flows using blockchain technologies. The introduction of proprietary tools like USDH (a stablecoin) further complicates tracing efforts by law enforcement. These innovations make it easier for cartels and other criminal organizations to obfuscate their funds while reinvesting in additional illegal ventures.

While it was known that cartels used such networks, recent findings reveal the staggering scale of their involvement with platforms like Huione Guarantee. This ecosystem has facilitated approximately $25 billion in transactions tied specifically to cartel operations.

Conclusion: Finding the right tools to combat these sophisticated criminal networks

Huione/HaoWang Guarantee illustrates the evolving sophistication of gray market hubs. By leveraging Telegram’s user base, anonymous cryptocurrency transactions, and advanced AI-driven automation, platforms like this one present multi-layered challenges for law enforcement globally.

Its integration into transnational crime networks—from money laundering for cartels to human trafficking—demonstrates how technology can be weaponized against vulnerable populations while enabling unprecedented levels of financial crime. As regulators scramble to catch up with these developments, such platforms continue to thrive in the shadows.

To combat these threats effectively, tools like CACI’s DarkBlue Intelligence Suite are essential. DarkBlue’s AI-enhanced analytics for open source dark web monitoring and integrated cryptocurrency transaction tracing enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify patterns, trace illicit financial flows, and disrupt criminal ecosystems. By incorporating OSINT techniques alongside cutting-edge dark web tools, DarkBlue empowers investigators with actionable insights into the operations of platforms like Huione Guarantee.