Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against crypto exchange Bitkub Online and two former directors, Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, alleging that they submitted false financial reports between May and October 2021. The case has been forwarded to the Economic Crime Suppression Division for investigation, and prosecutors will decide whether to pursue formal charges.
Regulator says hack losses were left out of required filings
According to the SEC, Bitkub was hit by a cyberattack in May 2021 in which 16 types of digital assets were stolen, causing losses of more than $50 million. The regulator’s investigation found that the exchange did not record those losses in its daily net capital reports, known as Form DA 1, filed between May 10 and Oct. 30, 2021.
The SEC said the executives allegedly made false entries in formal company documents, leading regulators to believe that customer assets remained intact and that the company had not suffered financial losses. Bitkub later completed purchases of replacement assets in late October 2021, but the SEC said the reports submitted during the earlier period still amounted to false statements.
Bitkub says customer holdings remain safe
In a statement dated July 23, Bitkub said current customer holdings are safe and its books remain complete. The company also said its co-founder bought replacement assets in the same quantities and token types and absorbed the losses.
Bitkub added that it reported the cyber theft to law enforcement on May 10, 2021.