The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has brought corruption charges against Akarlap Yimwilai, the former CEO of Zipmex Co. Ltd. The regulator claims that Yimwilai channelled crypto assets into international digital wallets without alerting customers to the changes in its terms and conditions.
Former Zipmex CEO in Thai SEC’s crosshairs
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Yimwilai headed this company, which is the Thai division of the Singapore-headquartered outfit, from August 2018 to November 2023. The SEC also indicated that its investigation picked up inconsistencies in filed company reports.
Zipmex received Ministry of Finance and SEC approval to operate in Thailand in 2020. On 2 February 2024, the SEC temporarily suspended Zipmex’s digital asset exchange and brokerage services when it failed to comply with previous regulator orders regarding its finance policies and operations. Zipmex has 15 days to rectify the issues and its website and mobile app have been disabled.
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The SEC filed its charges against Yimwilai with the Office of the Provincial Crime Suppression Division. After the FTX fraud debacle, finance regulators worldwide are putting cryptocurrency exchanges under the scope. This does not, however, mean that the focus has shifted from other markets.
On Tuesday, 6 February 2024, the Thai SEC announced updates to its Securities Issuers Project, which aims to improve the quality of publicly listed companies and sound conduct on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). This includes the stringent vetting of any company that wants to join this exchange. In its press release, Pornanong Budsaratragoon, secretary-general of the SEC, said:
The SEC has been working tirelessly to ensure effective law enforcement, as part of the Suppression Measures.
The financial watchdog’s recent actions against Stark Corporation Public Company Limited (STARK) echo this stance.
