Thailand's SEC alleges Bitkub concealed cyberattack that led to $50 million hack
Thailand's SEC has filed a criminal complaint against the crypto exchange Bitkub, alleging that executives concealed details regarding a 2021 cyberattack. The regulator claims the company provided false information in official documents following the theft of 16 digital assets.
Why it matters
This case highlights increasing regulatory scrutiny of major cryptocurrency exchanges and the legal consequences for failing to disclose security breaches to authorities.
The SEC filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub with the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD), accusing the exchange of providing false information and alleging that former directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan made false statements in company documents to deceive the regulator, the reports said.
Bitkub was the victim of a cyberattack in May 2021, and 16 different digital assets were subsequently stolen, according to SEC’s investigation.
The SEC and Bitkub made good the losses by the end of October that year. The regulator said it discovered Bitkub did not disclose the incident accurately in relevant reports from that period.
The SEC’s case will now proceed to a police investigation followed by possible public prosecution, the reports said.
Bitkub is Thailand’s biggest crypto exchange , with 24-hour trading volume of more than $500 million. It did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
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