The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub, accusing it of concealing a 2021 cyberattack and submitting false information to regulators regarding the incident. The case is currently under police investigation and may be transferred to prosecutors later.
Involving a loss of 1.7 billion baht
According to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, the incident occurred in May 2021. Bitkub suffered a cyberattack, resulting in the theft of 16 digital assets, with total losses amounting to approximately 1.7 billion Thai baht, or about US$50 million.
Regulators stated that Bitkub failed to accurately disclose the incident in its relevant reports during the period in which it was involved. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) also accused two former directors of the company, Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, of making false statements in company documents with the intent to mislead regulators.
Two former directors were named.
According to local media reports, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted the case to the Economic Crime Investigation Department (ECD). The charges include providing false information to regulators and concealing the true nature of the events through company documents.
This means the case has moved from regulatory investigation to criminal proceedings. Police will next conduct an investigation, which may then lead to public prosecution.
The exchange has completed the compensation payment.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission stated that the related losses had been compensated by the end of October 2021. However, during a subsequent review, the regulatory authorities discovered that Bitkub had not accurately described the events in its initial report.
Bitkub is one of Thailand's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. CoinDesk, citing data, reports that the platform's 24-hour trading volume exceeds $500 million. As of the time of publication, Bitkub had not responded to requests for comment.
