1. May 2025, the Financial Crime Ministry of Financial Crime (Fincen) from the USA, made the finding of Huion Group based in Cambodia “Financial institution Primary money laundering“In Section 311 of the Law on the US Patriot.
How financial institutions assess their risk exposure in the light of this development, it is important to understand what section 311 means and how it differs from the OFAC sanctions. Section 311 allows US. Limit access to the financial system identified by jurisdictions, financial institutions, transaction classes or accounts for money laundering concerns.
This article will explain how the US government applies Section 311 to protect the American financial system and why a holistic approach is essential to deal with the entities that attack worlds of traditional finances and cryptorurcy.
Section 311 is a powerful tool in the Treasury Arsenal
Section 311 Patriot ACT brought the law after attack 11. September, allows the Secretary of the Treasury to protect the American financial system from money laundering and the threats of money laundering and terrorist threats. Unlike sanctions managed by the Office for Foreign Assets (OFAC) and results in the property of property, the provision of foreign competencies, teaching transactions and / or terrorist financing and potentially apply special protective measures in response.
After Fincen issued a section 311 finding, the Agency may impose one or more special measures designed for protection in the Financial System in the appointed position of findings. This may be done either immediately (temporarily final rule) or after public cancellation and I-comment. In the most difficult cases, these measures may ban in financial institutions to maintain direct or indirect correspondent relations with the entity called.
Key differences between Article 311 and sanctions
Government: Section 311 presents its authority from the US Law Patriot, while sanctions are approved in the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEPA) or other national emergencies.
Administrator: Fincen administers Section 311 Actions, while OFAC manages sanctions. They are both part of the cash register department in Exex Branch.
Purpose: Section 311 authorizes the Treasury Department to identify foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions or types of money laundering or concerned with terrorism, such as terrorism, proliferation, cyber crime and human rights abuse.
Effects: Section 311 The findings do not result in immediate blocking or freezing of property, because they are sanctions. Instead, Fincen can impose special measures that restrict or prohibit access in the financial system through correspondent bank ratings.
Practical effects: Some institutions around the world voluntarily interrupt or restrict relations with the subjects appointed in section 311 of the findings due to concerns related to the presented evidence and the need to perform abundance caution. Most banks, whether they are either international, concludes that the costs and complexity of maintaining these relationships surpass any business advantages. For banks or other financial entities engaged in the financial system in financing, sanctions require immediate blocking of assets and freezing.
Huion Group finding
1. Maja, Fincen announced that Huione Group washed illegally of four billion dollars in the amount of 2021. and 20. January. Of this amount, from at least 37 million dollars from Cryber’s investment scam (including “pigsters”) and $ 300 million from other cyber scams.
An indication is a notable complex network structure of the Huion Group that includes:
- Huione Pay PLC, Institution to pay services
- Huione Crypto, Virtual Assets Provider (VPP)
- Warranty Haowang, Internet market for illegal goods and services
In its proposed rule, Fincen wants to prohibit financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondents or payments through the account for or on behalf of the Huion Group, efficiently separating its access to the financial system.
Why is this finding questions for financial institutions
The Huione Group illustrates why financial institutions need a comprehensive, holistic approach to risk management that bridges traditional finances and ecosystems of cryptocules. Here’s why:
1. Complex corporate structures crossing the boundaries
Huione Group acts as a conglomerate with multiple companies that pass traditional finances and cryptoturrency. Toward Extensive elliptical research And section 311 Announcements, the Group includes payment services, crypto exchange, ownership blockchain, stem (coal) and internet market. This varied portfolio creates a multilayer challenge:
- Hidden connections: Formal and informal relations between apparently separate entities may not be obvious in standard KYC documentation. For example, Huione Pay can appear as a legitimate payment processor in traditional banking systems, while its connection with illegal market activities can be visible only through the analysis of Blockchan.
- Regulatory arbitration: Entities such as Huione deliberately structure operations in several competencies and financial systems for exploitation of void in supervision. Their Stabekoin stabilika has not been lacking freezing functionality that characterizes other stems.
- Fast restructuring: After the public exposure, the elements of a group like Huion can often reorganize quickly. After the initial supervision, the Huion guarantee has been rebranded by Haowang warranty, which makes it difficult to follow the traditional match itself.
Traditional, cleverness approaches that separate supervision of cryptoturchinks from FIAT financial prevention for financial crime would fight to connect these points, leaving institutions with incomplete risk.
2. Connecting on the chain / flows the chain
Huione deliberately involved in traditional finances and cryptoturrency because it is more difficult for regulators and financial institutions to understand their business without holistic risk management.
- Krypto-Fiat roads: According to Elliptic and Fincens, Huione suppliers explicitly advertise money laundering services that convert the fraud continues from Fiat to Crypto and again. The bank could only see the retreat of Fiat, while the crypto exchange can only see Blockchain deposit. Nor a complete picture without integrated intelligence
- Double use of payment infrastructure: Huione Pay served as a licensed payment institution in Cambodia, processing legitimate transactions, simultaneously serve as an extraordinary ramp for illegal cryptors. Traditional financial surveillance would only caught a regulated canvaside of business, which completely disappeared the surgery washing cryptors
- StableCoin Bridges: StableCoin Centrifoit that created by Huione was especially advertised by their lack of regulatory supervision and the absence of freezing assets as key benefits. Serves as a bridge between illegal crypto activities and traditional financial system
- Cross-chain cover: Elliptical analysis revealed that the subjects associated with the huionik are moving funds in multiple blockades (Ethereum, Dipl, Tron and Huione chain) before we eventually connect to traditional finances. This technique is particularly designed to break the track to make any tracking system that could follow
Financial institutions need visibility in chain and chain to protect themselves from exposure to sophisticated operations such as Huionea. Institutions with Kriptoturny’s monitoring tools Could identify transactions with batetics associated with the huionik, while crypto companies with traditional financial intelligence could identify links with HUIONE’s payment services. Only those with integrated intelligence can see their full risk exposure.
3. Section 311 Time frame and risk
While section 311 shares have a 30-day comment period before finalization, the practical impact starts immediately. This compressed timeline creates unique challenges:
- Resource prioritization: Compliance teams must quickly mobilize resources for conducting a fundamental investigation into multiple business lines and systems. Without integrated data, this often means manual coordination between separate teams using different systems
- Historical transaction overview: Financial institutions do not just need to identify current exposure, but also review historical transactions to report suspicious activities. This historical analysis can be frightening without unified data for entities such as Huionea, which processed over $ 4 billion in illegal means for several years
- Expansion of the scope for the investigation: What begins as a check for direct exposure should often be expanded to examine customers and partners who can have independent links with the entity. Each investigation level multiplies data sources that must be advised
- Evolving Intelligence: During the 30-day period, new information about the operations and entity connections are often occurring. Institutions with starched systems are struggling to install this evolutionary intelligence in their assessment
Financial institutions with integrated compliance systems that combine traditional aml controls with BlockChain analytics can effectively perform these complex estimates, identify all potential exposure measures before the final rule takes effect. Those who rely on separate systems risk missing critical connections, potentially faced with regulatory supervision and reputational damage when these relationships are later reaching light.
How elliptic supports holistic risk management
While financial institutions have generally invested in traditional aml and financial crime surveillance systems, Huione finding shows that these tools are only insufficient in today’s financial landscape. Entities deliberately operate at the intersection of traditional finances and cryptorurers require a new approach to risk management.
Elliptical mounts this critical gap providing overarching over 50+ blockades in which groups like Huion work, connecting the wallets from cryptoturcy to the entities in the real world through advanced clustering techniques. Our solutions win deliberately ending by providing funds in blockchain boundaries and identify critical moments when crypto assets move to or from FIAT currency.
Instead of replacing existing compliance systems, elliptical screening integrates imperceptibly integrating current transaction bodies, complementing traditional sanctions with high-risk defining.
In today’s complex financial ecosystem, listing Elliptical Blockchain Intelligence provides financial institutions with full visibility needed to protect against sophisticated threats that deliberately operate through the border of crypto-fiat.
Take action today
SECTION 311 The finding against the Huion Group is a significant action in the authorities and underlines the growing converge of traditional financial crime and money laundering that enable cryptonuriency. In response, financial institutions must adopt a holistic approach to risk management, which includes data on the included and outside the chain.
Using comprehensive projection tools such as elliptical alignment teams can better protect their institutions from exposure to complex criminal enterprises operating through such traditional and cryptic limits. Contact Elliptic Today To protect your facility from the threat of cross-border limits like a Huion Group.