CoinDesk
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub, the country's largest crypto exchange, accusing the venue and two former directors of concealing a May 2021 cyberattack that resulted in the theft of roughly 1.7 billion baht, around $50 million, across 16 digital assets.
The complaint, lodged with the Economic Crime Suppression Division, alleges that former directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan made false statements in company documents submitted to the regulator. The SEC's investigation found that Bitkub failed to accurately disclose the incident in reports filed during the period, even though the exchange and the SEC together covered customer losses by the end of October 2021. The case will now proceed to a police investigation and possible public prosecution.
Why it matters
Bitkub is Thailand's biggest venue, with 24-hour trading volume above $500 million, making the disclosure failure a system-level event rather than a niche operator story. The regulatory reflex is also notable: Thailand's SEC is treating inaccurate reporting, not just the underlying theft, as the actionable offense. That framing raises the bar for every Thai-licensed exchange on incident-disclosure timelines, board-level sign-off on hack reporting, and personal liability for directors who certify those filings.
The criminal referral lands alongside Bitkub's ongoing commercial partnerships with traditional finance, including collaborations with Thai banking groups, making the reputational damage harder to contain than the dollar amount suggests. For regional peer venues in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, where disclosure regimes are still maturing, the Thai precedent functions as a read-across.
Market impact
Bitkub did not immediately respond to comment requests, and no trading suspension has been announced, so immediate token-market impact is limited.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Thailand's SEC allege Bitkub did wrong?
The SEC alleged Bitkub and two former directors, Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, concealed a May 2021 cyberattack and filed inaccurate disclosures in company reports, with false statements signed off to deceive the regulator.
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How much was stolen in the Bitkub hack?
Roughly 1.7 billion baht, around $50 million, across 16 different digital assets, was stolen in the May 2021 cyberattack.
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Were Bitkub customers made whole after the hack?
Yes. The SEC and Bitkub together covered customer losses by the end of October 2021, but the regulator's complaint targets the disclosure failures during the period, not the underlying theft.
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What happens next in the Bitkub SEC case?
The criminal complaint was filed with the Economic Crime Suppression Division. The case will proceed to a police investigation followed by possible public prosecution.
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How big is Bitkub in Thailand's crypto market?
Bitkub is Thailand's largest crypto exchange, with 24-hour trading volume above $500 million, making the SEC action a system-level event for Thai-licensed venues.
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