Following the extradition of Huione chairman Li Xiong to China on Wednesday, nearly 100 Huione Pay customers assembled in front of the National Bank of Cambodia looking for payouts similar to clients of other de-licensed banks.
However, recent communications from the NBC to Huione customers suggest the central bank may not intervene in recovering their lost funds, in contrast to recent promises to Panda Bank and Prince Bank customers.
The crowd, made up of people identifying themselves as Huione customers and others as H-Pay users, said their funds in either banking app remained frozen and that they wanted more details about whether they could recover their investments and business proceeds.
Huione Pay was previously licensed as a payment service provider, a financial institution that processes electronic payments. They are required to have at least $2 million in capital.
The company lost that license in 2024, though the NBC appears not to have acknowledged it publicly until March 2025 in a Radio Free Asia article.
Huione was sanctioned by the U.S. and U.K. in October 2025 amid a flurry of accusations of laundering money and operating a marketplace that sells goods associated with online scam crime such as bulk SIM cards, social media account information and tasers.
H-Pay was incorporated earlier the same month, in a move that many customers perceived as a rebranding.
H-Pay is still licensed as a payment services provider according to a list last updated by NBC on February 26, with an address based in Panda Commercial Bank’s headquarters in Sen Sok district. Panda Bank has claimed it separated from Huione-related companies, but the companies appear to have remaining links.
In response to complaints from customers, the NBC recently sent a letter downplaying the likelihood that it would facilitate their attempts to recover funds. The letter was reviewed by Mekong Independent.
“There is no sufficient basis under the Law on Banking and Financial Institutions to determine or recognize the customer’s share as a creditor of Huione Pay,” the letter says, noting that the company’s license was revoked on September 25, 2024 and Huione was liquidated on June 19, 2025.
The bank added that Huione Pay was using the cryptocurrency Tether or USDT during a period when financial institutions were banned from doing business in digital assets.
“Electronic currency (USDT) transactions are prohibited and high-risk, and all trading in this instrument is the sole responsibility of the operator,” the letter states.
At least one client said he didn’t know he was using USDT.
Xian Lai, a Chinese man who has been living in Cambodia for over three years working in renovation contracting and furniture sales, said his business’s entire account of about $50,000 was locked in an H-Pay account.
He explained that he was locked out of his account after the NBC announced in December that Huione Pay had its license revoked in September 2024 and was liquidated on June 19, 2025. He had since been unable to withdraw his “hard-earned funds.”
“I’m struggling to pay my workers, purchase materials for customers who already paid,” he said. “Overall it affected maintaining daily business operations.”
Lai said he had talked to Huione Pay in February to address his problem, and the company later encouraged him to wait, promising to return his money. But until now Lai said he had not received his money, and with no clear timeline he joined other customers in gathering in front of the NBC.
“I respectfully request immediate access to my deposits, full payment of the agreed interest, and a clear explanation along with a repayment timeline if there are operational difficulties,” he said.
He added that he was prepared to provide all necessary documentation to support his claims and was willing to pursue legal action if necessary.
“I am willing to provide all supporting documents and reserve the right to take legal action to protect my rights,” he said.
Rith, 32, who declined to give his full name, said he had been using Huione Pay for four years. He started using it in 2022 after he started a construction agency with a Chinese national, and from his perspective, all his transactions were in U.S. dollars, not the USDT cryptocurrency.
He claimed that his money had been transferred from Huione to H-Pay. He said the company first asked him to download the H-Pay app, and after doing so, his money was transferred to the app, but it was frozen.
“I didn’t choose to use this bank, my clients did,” he said. “I mostly do business with Chinese partners, and they requested that I download and use it.”
“My business is almost collapsing, we are waiting for our money. That’s why we are here asking the NBC for help to give us a solution,” he said.
He said he had $110,000 in the H-Pay account, describing it as an essential business fund.
When asked why he had chosen Huione Pay as his main bank account, he explained that he had no choice.
After standing outside the NBC for almost an hour, the bank staff and security facilitated entry and called them to go inside. NBC staff took down the names of all waiting customers, dividing them into those who had newly come to request an intervention and those who had previously submitted requests already.
The NBC staff separated the customers into two groups: Huione Pay users and H-Pay users. It was not immediately clear how the NBC would differently handle the two companies, which many customers had seen as a rebrand. Many of the clients had difficulty clearly differentiating between the two.
H-Pay has been approached for comment.
When approached by a reporter, NBC staff refused to talk, and walked fast to facilitate the other customers.
According to the NBC’s letter to customers, nearly 1,300 customers had approached the central bank and filed complaints against Huione Pay between December 8 and 25.
The letter added that affected customers could try to file a legal complaint against Huione Pay in court to seek a solution.
This article is published as Creative Commons.