• Thailand's SEC filed a criminal complaint against Bitget operator BG Limited on November 5.
• The complaint covers alleged unlicensed exchange services in Thailand between 2022 and 2025.
• The case cites Section 26 of Thailand's 2018 Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses.
Criminal Complaint Against BG Limited
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against BG Limited, the operator of the Bitget exchange, and asked the state to block the platform from December 5, per the regulator’s November 5 announcement. The complaint alleges the company provided cryptocurrency exchange services without the license required under the country’s digital asset regime, and it has been referred to the Economic Crime Suppression Division for investigation. A filing of this kind does not itself establish criminal liability: investigators hand findings to prosecutors, who decide whether charges follow, and any case then proceeds through the courts.
The SEC’s file covers conduct between 2022 and 2025. During that window, Bitget allegedly facilitated spot trading for Thai customers, collected trading fees and ran services aimed at the local market, including a Thai-language website that displayed cryptocurrency values in baht. The regulator also identified promotion through an X account called “Bitget Thailand,” the Telegram group “BGB Thai Holder” and a TikTok account named “bitgetthailand.” The charge rests on the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, introduced in 2018. Section 3 of the decree defines operating a digital asset exchange as a licensed activity, Section 26 prohibits providing such services without authorization, and Section 66 covers the offense. Under the decree, any person running a digital asset business for Thai customers needs an SEC-issued license, whether or not the operator is registered in Thailand. The SEC has notified the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to restrict access to Bitget’s main website, associated domains and mobile application, framing both measures as investor protection against money laundering risk, and said it will monitor the investigation and cooperate with the agencies involved.
December 5 Block and a Named Promoter
The access ban rests on a separate instrument from the criminal case. Under the 2025 Royal Decree on Measures for Preventing and Suppressing Technology-Related Crimes, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society can order restrictions against unlicensed digital asset trading platforms, and the SEC has invoked that framework for the December 5 cutoff. The legislation is designed to protect investors and keep unlicensed venues out of the financial system. The restriction applies to the main domain, its mirrors and the mobile application, leaving no official access channel for the platform inside the country.
Customers who hold assets on Bitget were advised to review their accounts and take appropriate steps before the deadline. The announcement describes no automatic liquidation process and requires no one to sell; the decision on balances stays with the account holder. The complaint separately names an individual: the SEC accuses Kritsana Kritsananuwat of promoting Bitget’s services through the Facebook page “Srisiam” and the YouTube channel “SRISIAM,” support it says sustained the unlicensed operation. The enforcement follows a familiar pattern, as Thai authorities blocked five unlicensed crypto platforms in June 2025 under the same framework, including Bybit, OKX and CoinEx. Investors are directed to verify a provider’s authorization through the SEC’s website or its SEC Check First application. Bitget has not issued a public response to the complaint.
A Thai License Bid Under Pressure
The decision that matters next sits outside the criminal file. Bitget said in October that it intended to acquire GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), the operator of the locally licensed Z.com EX platform, through BTGT Management, in a transaction tied to a combined 99.94% stake held by GMO Internet and its Thai subsidiary. The share transfer was originally scheduled for October 31 and still requires regulatory approval, and CEO Gracy Chen has framed the deal as a route to establishing local operations. That approval now runs through the same regulator pressing the complaint, which alleges three years of unlicensed services toward Thai users. A criminal resolution could take months: the Economic Crime Suppression Division investigates first, prosecutors weigh charges and any trial follows. Bitget’s October user agreement already listed Thailand among jurisdictions restricted from its international platform, so the acquisition was the company’s only stated path into the market.
