According to the SEC’s findings, CoinEx platform provided services as a digital asset exchange to facilitate trading and exchange of digital assets for a fee. It also solicited and advertised CoinEx services in Thailand using Thai language via social media such as Facebook and Twitter (currently named X), Medium and Telegram. In this regard, Puttipong presented himself as partner of CoinEx Thailand and the person in charge of CoinEx booth at Thailand Crypto Expo 2022 held at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC), where he also gave a talk on stage to solicit the public to use CoinEx services. Additionally, Puttipong sent an email as partner of CoinEx Thailand, inquiring the SEC about the procedure for applying a digital asset exchange license for CoinEx. He was also the administrator of CoinEx Official Thailand Telegram chatroom to facilitate more convenient crypto trading by sending advertising and sales promotion messages that led to more public exposure to CoinEx and more public interest in its services.   

The actions of CoinEx and Puttipong were liable to be a collusion to undertake a digital asset exchange business under Section 3 of the Emergency Decree without proper license, in violation of Section 26 and subject to the penalties under Section 66 of the Emergency Decree in conjunction with Section 83 of the Criminal Code.

The SEC has therefore filed the criminal complaint against CoinEx and Puttipong with the ECD for consideration of further legal action.

Filing a criminal complaint by the SEC is only the beginning of the criminal enforcement process. As to whether any persons are offenders shall be subject to the investigation of the inquiry official, the prosecution of the public prosecutor, and the adjudication of the court of justice, respectively. In this regard, the SEC will monitor progresses in the legal proceedings and will cooperate fully with relevant agencies to support legal enforcement under the Emergency Decree after the criminal complaint has been filed. Moreover, the SEC is cooperating with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE) to consider blocking access to CoinEx platform in Thailand in accordance with the Computer-Related Crime Act B.E. 2550 (2007) to prevent potential harm to the public. In any case, shutting down access channels to platforms of unlicensed digital asset service providers is under the consideration of the DE and the court, and the timeframe for such action may vary depending on each case.

The public and investors are advised to be cautious when considering using services of unlicensed digital asset business operators, as they would not be protected by law and may be exposed to risks of scams and money laundering. To verify the names of licensed business operators under the SEC’s supervision, please visit the SEC website at www.sec.or.th or use SEC Check First application. Also, the list of business operators not under th SEC’s supervision is available on Investor Alert Page via this link:  https://market.sec.or.th/public/idisc/th/InvestorAlert

Furthermore, leads on suspicious activities in the capital market can be notified to the SEC Complaint Center via Hotline 1207 or SEC Facebook Page or SEC Live Chat on the SEC website. Further in-dept inspection will proceed in due course.