PHNOM PENH: A cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Wednesday (May 6) he owned a 30 per cent stake in a digital payments platform linked to cyberscams and money laundering and sanctioned by Washington.

The US government last year accused Huione Group, which owned several companies offering e-commerce, payment and cryptocurrency exchange services, including Huione Pay, of laundering funds for transnational criminal groups perpetrating scams from Southeast Asia.

Huione's former chairman, Li Xiong, was extradited to China last month. 

Chinese authorities say he was central to a major transnational gambling and fraud syndicate and is suspected of multiple crimes.

"I would like to inform the public that I have indeed owned 30 per cent of shares in HUIONE PAY PLC," businessman Hun To said in a statement.

Li owned 62 per cent of Huione Pay's shares, while Hun To owned 30 per cent, according to a report by liquidator Reachs & Partners.

Huione Pay's liquidation was completed in October 2025, it said.

Hun To said he did not manage the business operations of Huione Pay and "never received any profits, dividends or assets from that company".

The premier's relative was previously listed as a director of Huione Pay on the commerce ministry's online business registry.

Huione Pay had a net cash balance of more than US$1.1 million after all creditors were paid, and the remaining funds were distributed to "actual shareholders responsible for the company's past operations", the liquidator said.

"I received no share of the remaining money after the liquidation," Hun To said.

Since last month, protesters have demanded the unfreezing of their accounts with the Huione platform H-Pay, previously Huione Pay, which they said have been inaccessible since December.

The National Bank of Cambodia has said the Huione platforms' business licences have been revoked, and Huione Pay creditors should go to the courts, while creditors of the newer entity, H-Pay, can make claims with the liquidator.

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The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated Phnom Penh-based Huione Group a "primary money-laundering concern" last y...