Huiwang Group is the largest illegal financial group in Southeast Asia. Its Huiwang Guarantee platform has long provided assistance for criminal activities such as money laundering and drug trafficking in Southeast Asia, handling over 24 billion US dollars in total and is known as the “largest dark web market in history”. In May 2025, the encrypted communication platform Telegram launched a “purification storm” targeting illegal financial activities, and the Huiwang Guarantee platform was banned. Although the group attempted to continue operating under the name “Haowang Guarantee”, on May 13th, the complete ban on Telegram cut off its core trading channels, forcing Haowang Guarantee to announce the cessation of all its business.
However, it is said that “Huione darknet humming at ‘full capacity’ despite shutdown”, meaning that despite being shutdown, Huione Darknet is still operating at “full capacity”. This might be because the criminal group has taken a series of countermeasures, such as transferring some of its business to the newly established “Potato Guarantee” channel. In addition, Huiwang Group has issued decentralized stablecoins such as Huiwang Encryption USDH, making it more difficult to track funds. This has also provided certain conditions for its dark web business to continue operating after being shut down.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Department of the Treasury has identified Huiwang Group as a “top money laundering risk agency” and intends to prohibit it from using the services of the US financial system, promoting international sanctions. The Chinese police also carried out the “Seagull Operation” with Cambodia and other countries, freezing 1.2 billion US dollars of the involved funds and arresting more than 70,000 people. However, due to the anonymity and complexity of the dark web, as well as the rapid response strategies of criminal groups, the crackdown on the Huiwang dark Web still faces many challenges.
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