Thailand’s SEC sues 5 for wash trading activities

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing five entities over wash trading activities on two crypto exchanges, Bitkub and Satang corporation.

According to a Sept. 27 press release from the regulator, public prosecutors have been directed to sue Bitkub and two individuals for creating artificial volume for digital assets in the exchange.

The lawsuit was filed in a civil court, and prosecutors asked for civil sanctions of 24,161,292 baht ($636,000). Also, the regulator wants the court to ban the accused from trading crypto assets and being executives and directors of crypto firms.

The SEC had earlier proposed that the two individuals, Anurak Chuachai and Sakon Srakawee, should not trade crypto assets or their derivatives for six months or be directors or executives of a digital assets company for 12 months.

But the offenders did not comply, hence the prosecution. The SEC added Mr. Sakon to the liability as co-debtor and wants the ban on the two individuals to be to the full extent of the law.

In August, Thailand’s SEC fined Bitkub Chief Technology Officer Samret Wajanasathian 8.5 million baht ($235,000) for insider trading. It also fined the exchange in May for not complying with local regulations when listing its native token, KUB.

Wash trading is an illegal market manipulation tactic that misrepresents demand for digital assets.

Thai SEC targets two more entities

Two other entities, LLC Fair Expo and Mr. Mikalai Zahorski, were also sued for similar offenses at the Satang Pro exchange.

The regulator wants the court to impose a fine of 12,080,646 baht ($315,000) along with trading ban terms.

The SEC is resorting to civil action after the offenders refused to comply with the punishment imposed on them two months earlier.

Thai SEC tightens noose on crypto

Thailand’s SEC has increased its oversight function over the crypto space in light of the recent market implosion. The regulator accused Zipmex and its CEO Eklarp Yimwilai of failing to comply fully with its demand for information on how the firm managed its assets.

Meanwhile, the financial regulator banned crypto companies from offering staking and lending services to protect traders from the risk associated with the market.