The SEC’s investigation found that, in May 2021, Bitkub was subject to a cyberattack involving the theft of digital assets in a total of 16 cryptocurrencies, resulting in a certain amount of customers’ digital assets being withdrawn from the digital asset exchange (with an approximate value of 1.7 billion baht). Subsequent information indicated that Bitkub had procured digital assets to replace the stolen digital assets as from 31 October 2021. The SEC further found that Bitkub did not report to the SEC in its daily net capital report (Form DA 1) in a manner consistent with the theft incident. In Form DA 1 for the period from 10 May to 30 October 2021, there was no indication that Bitkub’s asset balance had materially changed as a result of the theft incident. Such conduct was considered to be the giving of false statements to the SEC, constituting an offense under Section 76 of the Emergency Decree.

In this regard, Mr. Sakolkorn Sakavee and Mr. Thaweesap Rawan, directors of Bitkub, were responsible for submitting Form DA 1 during the period of the incident. Accordingly, they are liable in the same manner as Bitkub under Section 94 in conjunction with Section 76 of the Emergency Decree.

In addition, Mr. Sakolkorn and Mr. Thaweesap made false entries in Form DA 1 during the period of the incident, which was a document of Bitkub, to deceive the SEC into believing that customers’ assets continued to be kept in the ordinary course and that no damage had occurred to Bitkub. Such conduct was therefore considered to be the making of false entries in the documents of a juristic person to deceive any person, constituting an offense under Section 88(2) of the Emergency Decree and subject to penalties under the final paragraph of Section 88.

The SEC has therefore filed a criminal complaint with the ECD against the three persons, namely Bitkub, Mr. Sakolkorn Sakavee and Mr. Thaweesap Rawan, who are currently former directors of Bitkub, for consideration of further legal action.

Following the criminal complaint filed by the SEC, the criminal enforcement process will proceed with 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 fully cooperate with relevant agencies to support legal enforcement under the Emergency Decree after the criminal complaint has been filed. 

The SEC also urges the public and investors to exercise caution when using services provided by unauthorized digital asset business operators, as they will not be protected under the law and may also be exposed to risks of scams and money laundering. The list of licensed business operators can be verified on the SEC’s website at www.sec.or.th and via the SEC Check First application. The list of persons who are not licensed or regulated by the SEC can also be verified through the Investor Alert at https://market.sec.or.th/public/idisc/th/InvestorAlert.

In addition, to report any tips or leads regarding suspicious activities, please contact the SEC Complaint Center via Hotline 1207, the Facebook page “สำนักงาน กลต.”, or SEC Live Chat on the SEC website for further in-depth investigation.