Thailand’s SEC accuses Bitkub of misreporting customer losses after 2021 hack

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a police complaint against Bitkub Online and two former directors, saying the exchange gave false information about customer assets after a May 2021 cyberattack. For PSPs and crypto businesses, the point is simple: in this market, post-incident reporting is part of the control environment, not paperwork after the fact.

1. The complaint was filed with the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police’s Central Investigation Bureau. Investigators have been asked to review whether the documents submitted by Bitkub accurately reflected the exchange’s financial position and to decide whether criminal charges should follow.
2. The SEC says Bitkub reported the period from 10 May to 30 October 2021, but did not reflect customer financial losses from the hack. The regulator estimated the damage to affected customers at about 1.7 billion baht ($50.4 million).
3. According to the SEC, Bitkub later restored the stolen digital assets after 31 October 2021, but did not explain to the authorities the consequences of the incident or how the funds were recovered. The regulator also alleges that Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who were responsible for daily net capital reports, failed to include the damage in Bitkub’s corporate records despite the asset loss.
4. This is not Bitkub’s first run-in with the Thai regulator. In 2022, the SEC fined the company’s chief technology officer $230,000 for insider trading. Separately, the Thai regulator has said it plans to block unlicensed crypto platforms, citing investor protection and anti-money-laundering concerns.