Tech giants Apple and Google have removed a number of cryptocurrency applications from their respective app stores. These apps have been identified as having ties to the Huione Group, a Cambodia-based company that was charged with running the biggest-ever dark web market.
The Huione Group operates a Telegram-based marketplace that facilitates illicit activities, including the sale of stolen personal data, technology, and money laundering services. With transactions reaching $24 billion, it is considered one of the largest illegal online marketplaces ever discovered.
As per reports, Huione Group also runs many different legitimate services, including a payment app, a crypto exchange, and a mobile messaging service. However, It’s uncertain whether any of these services have been used to commit fraud. It also has certain numerous products, from insurance to luxury travel.
Elliptic CEO Tom Robinson said, “I think Google and Apple should consider whether Huione Group is an appropriate business to be distributing apps through their platforms.” In response, Google removed all of the apps and Apple removed the crypto exchange. The other Huione Group apps are still listed on the App Store.
Huione Guarantee works as a kind of guarantor, taking a fee for each transaction. It claims to be neutral and has written in clauses on Chinese-language websites that it does not know what its users are selling.
According to Elliptic’s research, users of Huione Guarantee offer a wide range of products to support fraud, particularly its pig butchering, where victims are tricked into investing in a fake crypto platform that promises big returns but never pays out.
Also Read: India’s Home Minister Amit Shah cracks down on Crypto for Drug Menace
