SEC says Bitkub's books looked a little too full after $50M vanished 🧾

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against crypto exchange Bitkub Online and two former directors, accusing them of submitting false reports to the regulator following a May 2021 cyberattack. The complaint, lodged with Thailand's Economic Crime Suppression Division, names former Bitkub directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who the SEC said were responsible for filing company reports during the period under review.

According to the SEC, the attack drained 16 types of digital assets from Bitkub, worth roughly 1.7 billion baht ($50 million) by one tally and $47 million by another. The regulator alleged that between May 10 and Oct. 30, 2021, Bitkub's daily net-liquid-capital filings showed no meaningful change in the exchange's holdings, omitting the impact of the loss in breach of Thailand's Digital Asset Business Decree. The omission, the SEC said, gave the impression that customer assets remained unchanged and that the exchange had not suffered losses from the attack.

Bitkub pushed back in a post on X, saying the case stems from disclosure decisions made after the May 2021 cyberattack rather than fraudulent conduct. The exchange said it delayed announcing the wallet compromise to prevent a bank run while it replaced the stolen assets, and that co-founders later purchased equivalent digital assets to cover the missing funds, leaving neither the company nor its customers with financial losses. In a video statement posted to Facebook, Sakolkorn took sole responsibility, said he altered the filings himself without telling other directors or staff, and apologized. He resigned from company boards and pledged to cooperate with regulators. The company added that it has since strengthened its governance, compliance and security systems.

Founded in 2018, Bitkub ranks first among Thai crypto exchanges by trust score and had about $712 million in daily trading volume at the time of reporting, according to CoinGecko. It has since been overtaken by Binance's local arm, Binance TH, which ranks 31st among global exchanges to Bitkub's 68th, per CoinMarketCap. The SEC confirmed the exchange's holdings were intact as of September 2025, according to Bitkub.

The case coincides with renewed scrutiny of Bitkub's listing plans. In December 2025, Bitkub confirmed it was considering an initial public offering, including a potential listing in Hong Kong after shelving a Stock Exchange of Thailand IPO in November 2025 as the local market slumped. A planned $200 million offering in Hong Kong was under discussion at the time. The complaint will now proceed through investigation, possible prosecution and court proceedings.