Telegram Shuts Down Cambodian Dark Market Haowang Guarantee

Telegram has removed all accounts, channels, and digital storefronts associated with the Cambodian peer-to-peer (P2P) platform Haowang Guarantee. The ban follows mounting evidence linking the market to crypto-related scams and laundering of stablecoins through fake transactions.Haowang Guarantee, previously known as Huione Guarantee, lost access to Telegram after a wide-scale investigation revealed its operations resembled those of a dark market. Telegram deleted thousands of groups, shops, and NFTs linked to Haowang Guarantee. The company behind the platform later announced that it was shutting down operations.Telegram crackdown targets crypto crimeThe platform’s removal from Telegram came after reports from Wired and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic highlighted its involvement in widespread crypto fraud. Haowang Guarantee had been operating as a marketplace for illegal financial activities while presenting a legitimate storefront. These activities included laundering large amounts of USDT by disguising transactions as regular P2P sales.Telegram confirmed the banned accounts were part of the activity exposed in the reports. While the crackdown may not eliminate all scam operations, it is expected to significantly disrupt illicit actors. The platform also began removing similar dark market storefronts unrelated to Haowang, signaling a broader effort to clean up Telegram’s ecosystem.What next for online criminal markets? Xinbi and Huione thought Telegram was a safe home. This turned out not to be true, and may spur the development of decentralised, censorship-resistant comms – alongside the censorship-resistant payments of crypto.https://t.co/m7aJ5hUOSJ— Tom Robinson (@tomrobin) May 14, 2025Haowang guarantee loses safe HavenAccording to Elliptic’s co-founder and chief scientist Tom Robinson, the ban pushed Haowang Guarantee and smaller networks like Xinbi Guarantee out of Telegram’s secure space. The decision is seen as a significant step toward reducing scam-related activity. However, searches for Haowang on Telegram suggest that some groups may be trying to return under new identities.The market had reportedly processed up to $27 billion in illicit transactions. Alongside money laundering, Haowang Guarantee also served as a source of scam tools, including fake crypto website templates that enabled phishing attacks and theft from major exchanges like Coinbase.US banking ban hits market operatorThe Huione Group, which is responsible for Haowang Guarantee, has been restricted from using the US financial system. The ban, however, was based on the Patriot Act which included suspicious activity with foreign jurisdictions and hidden transactions. This notwithstanding, the group remained greatly dependent on stablecoins, specifically USDT, to conduct untraceable transfers. The incident has pressurized the regulators to monitor wallets and exchanges associated with P2P activity. Although small share of funds has been frozen until now, dark markets have intensified to use no-KYC platforms to evade enforcement.The post Telegram Shuts Down Cambodian Dark Market Haowang Guarantee first appeared on Coinfea.