The SEC found that these individuals had engaged or jointly engaged in providing Worldcoin (WLD) trading services, disseminated related information in Thai via social media channels, and presented themselves as offering such services in the normal course of business outside the digital asset exchanges. These actions constitute operating digital asset dealing business without a license, in violation of Section 26 of the Emergency Decree, in conjunction with Section 83 of the Criminal Code, as applicable, and are subject to penalties under Section 66 of the Emergency Decree. The SEC has therefore filed criminal complaints against the five individuals with the ECD for consideration of further legal action. 

Following the criminal complaint filed by the SEC, the criminal enforcement process will proceed with an investigation by the inquiry official, prosecution by the public prosecutor, and adjudication by the court of justice, respectively. In this regard, the SEC will monitor the progress of the legal proceedings and cooperate fully with relevant agencies to support legal enforcement under the Emergency Decree after the criminal complaint has been filed. 

The public and investors should exercise caution when using services from unlicensed digital asset businesses as they will not be protected under the law and may be exposed to risks of fraud and scams as well as the potential misuse of funds for money laundering by offenders.

Investors can verify the list of digital asset business licensees on the SEC’s website at www.sec.or.th and via the SEC Check First application. Additionally, the list of individuals or entities not regulated by the SEC is available at the Investor Alert Section on the SEC’s website: https://market.sec.or.th/public/idisc/th/InvestorAlert. To report any information regarding suspicious activities, please contact the SEC Complaint Center via Hotline 1207 or the SEC Official Facebook Page, or the SEC Live Chat on the SEC website.