Thailand SEC accuses Bitkub of false disclosures
Thailand’s SEC filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub Online and two former directors, alleging false reports after a May 2021 hack that stole about 1.7 billion baht.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint on Thursday against Bitkub Online and two former directors, accusing the exchange of submitting false reports after a May 2021 cyberattack that removed about 1.7 billion baht in digital assets.
The regulator says the hack affected 16 types of digital tokens. While Bitkub’s co‑founders later bought replacement assets by Oct. 31, 2021, the SEC alleges the exchange’s daily net liquid capital reports submitted between May 10 and Oct. 30, 2021, did not show a significant drop in assets after the theft. The complaint names former directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan as responsible for the reports filed during the period under review.
The SEC has opened a formal investigation that could lead to prosecution and court proceedings. The regulator did not detail specific criminal charges in its public statement beyond asserting that the disclosures did not accurately report the impact of the wallet compromise on the exchange’s liquid capital statements.
Bitkub responded in a post on X, writing that the matter arose from disclosure choices made after the May 2021 attack rather than intentional fraud. The company wrote that it “delayed disclosing the wallet compromise to prevent a bank run” while it covered the stolen assets, and that the founders later purchased equivalent tokens to restore customer balances. Bitkub added that neither the company nor its customers suffered financial losses and that it has strengthened governance, compliance and security systems since the incident.
The complaint was filed as Bitkub’s parent company is considering a possible initial public offering, including a potential listing in Hong Kong. Bitkub was founded in 2018 and has grown into one of Thailand’s largest digital asset platforms, with reported daily trading volumes near $712 million at the time of the latest available data.
The case will continue through the SEC’s investigative process before any charges are pursued in court.
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