Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub and two of its former directors, alleging false reports hid a 2021 hack. The regulator says the exchange's daily filings from May to October 2021 showed no significant change in its assets despite the theft of 16 types of digital assets worth 1.7 billion baht ($47 million). Bitkub says customer funds are safe and that its co-founders replaced the stolen assets.
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub and two of its former directors, alleging they submitted false reports to the regulator after a 2021 hack. The complaint was lodged with Thailand's Economic Crime Suppression Division, according to reports in local media.
The case stems from a May 2021 cyberattack in which 16 types of digital assets worth 1.7 billion baht ($47 million) were drained from the exchange. From May to October 2021, the SEC alleges, Bitkub's daily net-capital filings showed no significant change in its assets, hiding the loss in breach of the country's Digital Asset Business Decree.
Two former directors accused of false entries
Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan are accused of making false entries to mislead the regulator into believing customer assets were intact. The case now passes to police and prosecutors, who will decide whether to bring it to court.
Bitkub said the matter concerns a five-year-old reporting decision and that customer funds are safe. Those responsible chose not to disclose the wallet theft to avoid triggering a bank run, the company said, and its co-founders bought replacement assets in the same amounts, leaving neither Bitkub nor its customers out of pocket. The exchange added that the SEC had confirmed its holdings were intact as of September 2025.
Sakolkorn takes sole responsibility for hiding the theft
In a video statement posted to Facebook, Sakolkorn took sole responsibility, according to a translation by the Bangkok Post. He reportedly said he altered the filings himself without telling other directors or staff and withheld news of the hack, fearing panic withdrawals and a bank run that could have destroyed the exchange.
The former director added that Bitkub's founders used their own money to buy back the stolen assets until every customer was repaid. He apologized, resigned from the company's boards, and pledged to cooperate with regulators.
The case comes as Bitkub works toward a public listing
Bitkub, once Thailand's dominant crypto exchange, works toward a public listing. Binance's local arm, Binance TH, has since overtaken it, ranking 31st among global exchanges to Bitkub's 68th, per CoinMarketCap.
The company shelved a planned Stock Exchange of Thailand IPO in November 2025 as the local market slumped, and was weighing a $200 million offering in Hong Kong instead.
Source: Decrypt
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