Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against crypto exchange Bitkub and two former directors, alleging the company concealed the financial impact of a 2021 hack in reports submitted to the regulator.
The complaint centers on a cyberattack in May 2021 in which 16 types of digital assets worth 1.7 billion baht, about $47 million, were drained from the exchange. According to the SEC, Bitkub’s reporting after the incident failed to reflect any meaningful reduction in assets.
Complaint over post-hack filings
The regulator said the complaint was lodged with Thailand’s Economic Crime Suppression Division. It alleges that from May to October 2021, Bitkub submitted daily net-capital reports that showed no significant change in its asset position despite the theft.
The SEC says those filings hid the loss and therefore breached Thailand’s Digital Asset Business Decree. The regulator has accused the company of submitting false information in required disclosures following the attack.
Former directors named
The complaint also names two former Bitkub directors, Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan. The SEC alleges they made false entries intended to mislead the regulator into believing that customer assets remained intact.
At this stage, the filing does not itself amount to a court ruling. The matter now moves to police and prosecutors, who will decide whether the case should proceed to court.
Bitkub’s response
Bitkub said the issue relates to a reporting decision made five years ago and maintained that customer funds are safe. The exchange said the people responsible for handling the incident chose not to disclose the wallet theft at the time because they wanted to avoid sparking a bank run.
According to the company, its co-founders bought replacement assets in the same amounts as those taken in the hack. On that basis, Bitkub said neither the company nor its customers were left out of pocket.
The exchange also said the SEC had confirmed that its holdings were intact as of September 2025.
What the case is about
The case does not revolve around whether the hack occurred; both the regulator’s complaint and Bitkub’s response refer to the May 2021 theft. The dispute is over what the company reported afterward and whether those filings improperly obscured the loss from the regulator.
For now, the SEC has made its allegations and referred the matter for criminal consideration, while Bitkub argues the underlying assets were replaced and customers were protected.
Source: decrypt.co