How a crypto exchange secretly hid $53M in stolen crypto to prevent a bank run – as the SEC targets its directors

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub Online and two former directors, alleging that the crypto exchange submitted daily net-capital reports, known as Form DA 1, that failed to show the effect of a 2021 theft involving about 1.7 billion baht (roughly $53 million) in customer assets.The July 23, 2026, complaint to Thailand's Economic Crime Suppression Division names Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who the SEC said were responsible for the reports when they were Bitkub directors. The regulator alleges that Bitkub gave false statements and that the two former directors made false entries in company documents.According to the SEC, a May 2021 cyberattack caused customer assets across 16 cryptocurrencies to be withdrawn from the exchange. Bitkub's Form DA 1 reports from May 10 through Oct. 30, 2021, showed no material change in its asset balance from the theft, conduct the regulator said amounted to false reporting.The SEC said subsequent information indicated that Bitkub began procuring replacement digital assets on Oct. 31, 2021. The regulator did not say when that replacement process was completed.Bitkub says it feared a ban...