Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a criminal case against crypto exchange Bitkub and two former directors, accusing them of concealing a 2021 hack that drained about 1.7 billion baht (roughly $47 million) in digital assets.
What the SEC alleges
- The complaint, filed with Thailand’s Economic Crime Suppression Division, centers on a May 2021 cyberattack that emptied 16 token types from Bitkub wallets.
- From May to October 2021, the SEC says Bitkub’s daily net-capital reports showed no material change in assets, effectively hiding the loss and violating the country’s Digital Asset Business Decree.
- Two ex-directors named in the filing — Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan — are accused of making false accounting entries that misled regulators into believing customer assets were intact.
Bitkub’s response and an ex-director’s admission
Bitkub has framed the matter as a five-year-old reporting decision and insists customer funds were never at risk. The exchange says its founders used personal funds to replace the stolen assets so that neither Bitkub nor its customers suffered losses, and added that the SEC had confirmed holdings were intact as of September 2025.
In a video statement posted on Facebook, former director Sakolkorn Sakavee reportedly took sole responsibility, saying he altered filings and withheld news of the wallet theft without informing other board members or staff. He told the Bangkok Post he hid the incident to avoid triggering panic withdrawals and a potential “bank run.” Sakolkorn apologized, resigned from the company boards, and pledged to cooperate with investigators.
Next steps and broader context
The criminal complaint now moves to police and prosecutors, who will decide whether to take the case to court. The development arrives as Bitkub—once Thailand’s leading crypto exchange—prepares for a public listing amid a shifting competitive landscape. Bitkub has been overtaken by Binance’s local arm (Binance TH) and ranks 68th globally by trading volume versus Binance TH at 31st, per CoinMarketCap. The company shelved a planned Stock Exchange of Thailand IPO in November 2025 and has been exploring a potential $200 million listing in Hong Kong.
Why this matters
The case raises questions about incident disclosure practices in the crypto industry and regulatory oversight of exchanges’ capital reporting. If prosecutors proceed, the outcome could influence how exchanges report security breaches and how regulators enforce transparency and consumer protections in Thailand’s fast-evolving digital-asset market.
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