Thailand's SEC files criminal complaint against Bitkub over alleged false reporting

Thailand’s crypto industry is facing fresh regulatory scrutiny after authorities accused Bitkub, one of the country’s largest digital asset exchanges, of providing false information to regulators.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub Online and two former directors over alleged false reporting connected to a 2021 cyberattack, the regulator announced on Thursday.

The complaint names former Bitkub directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who the SEC said were responsible for submitting company reports during the period under investigation.

The case comes as Bitkub’s parent company considers a potential public listing, putting renewed attention on transparency and governance at one of Thailand’s most prominent crypto businesses.

SEC alleges Bitkub failed to disclose impact of hack

The SEC said a cyberattack in May 2021 resulted in the theft of 16 types of digital assets from Bitkub, worth about 1.7 billion baht ($50 million).

The regulator alleged that Bitkub later replaced the stolen assets by Oct. 31, 2021, but failed to accurately reflect the impact of the incident in its daily net liquid capital reports.

According to the SEC, reports submitted between May 10 and Oct. 30, 2021, did not show a significant reduction in the exchange’s assets following the theft.

The regulator alleged that the omission gave the impression that customer assets remained unchanged and that the exchange had not suffered losses from the attack.

The SEC accused Bitkub and the former directors of violating multiple provisions of Thailand’s digital asset regulations over the alleged false disclosures. The case will now proceed through investigation, possible prosecution and court proceedings.

Bitkub says disclosure delayed to prevent bank run

Bitkub disputed the SEC’s allegations in a post on X, saying the case stems from disclosure decisions made after the May 2021 cyberattack rather than fraudulent conduct. The exchange said it delayed disclosing the wallet compromise to prevent a bank run while it addressed the loss of the stolen assets.

The company said its co-founders later purchased equivalent digital assets to cover the stolen funds, leaving neither the company nor its customers with financial losses. The company added that it has since strengthened its governance, compliance and security systems.

Founded in 2018, Bitkub has emerged as one of the largest crypto exchanges in Thailand. According to CoinGecko, the platform ranks first among Thai crypto exchanges by trust score and had about $712 million in daily trading volume at publishing time.

In December 2025, Bitkub confirmed to Cointelegraph it was considering an initial public offering (IPO), including a potential listing in Hong Kong.