Thailand Files Criminal Complaint Against Bitget, Sets Dec. 5 Access Block
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against Bitget operator BG Limited for providing unlicensed digital asset trading from 2022 to 2025. The SEC also directed a block of Bitget's website and app from Dec. 5, while Bitget's planned acquisition of a licensed Thai exchange awaits regulatory approval.
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What the Regulator Alleges
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against BG Limited, the operator of Bitget, alleging it ran an unlicensed digital asset exchange for Thai users between 2022 and 2025. The complaint was lodged with the Economic Crime Suppression Division and also names Kritsana Kritsananuwat, whom the regulator accuses of promoting the exchange through the Srisiam Facebook page and SRISIAM YouTube channel.
The SEC cites several features as evidence of an active Thai business: a trading system offered in the ordinary course of business, fees charged to users, a Thai-language website that displayed values in baht, and marketing through Thai-language accounts on X, Telegram and TikTok. According to the regulator, this conduct falls under the definition of a digital asset exchange business under Section 3 of the 2018 Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, and violates the licensing requirement in Section 26, punishable under Section 66. The case now moves to an inquiry official, then to prosecutors and the courts.
Access Block From December 5
Separately, the SEC submitted Bitget's website, other domains and its app to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society under a 2025 royal decree authorizing access blocks on unlicensed platforms. According to the SEC's statement, the public will be unable to reach the platform from Dec. 5, 2026. The regulator told investors still holding assets on the exchange to consider acting before the cutoff.
The timing follows a template Thailand has used before. In mid-2025 the SEC referred Bybit, OKX and three other unlicensed platforms for a June 28 cutoff, advising users to move assets first. The Bitget action differs in adding a criminal complaint against the operator and a named promoter.
The Pending Acquisition
The enforcement action lands weeks after Bitget announced plans to acquire GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), a Bangkok exchange and brokerage that already holds Thai licenses. Under the deal, GMO Internet and its Thai holding company would transfer their stakes in GMO-Z, about 49% and 50.94% respectively, to BTGT Management (Thailand) Ltd. or a designee at completion, according to a Sept. 24 GMO Internet filing. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said in an Oct. 20 release that the deal would give the company a local operating platform in Thailand.
The timetable has already moved. GMO Internet pushed the effective date of the share transfer from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30, citing work on Thai regulatory applications and closing procedures. That revised date falls five days before the planned access block. Bitget says completion remains subject to regulatory approval, and that it intends to bring its platform to Thai users through the licensed entity only after a change-of-control approval.
Open Questions
The sources differ in emphasis on how the two tracks interact. One account presents the acquisition mainly as background to the enforcement action. The other notes that Bitget's own terms of use, updated in October, already list Thailand among prohibited jurisdictions, a detail that bears on how the company has positioned its Thai activity. Neither account reports that the SEC has addressed whether the criminal complaint will affect the GMO-Z change of control. The SEC statement does not mention GMO-Z, and Bitget had not publicly responded to the complaint at the time of reporting.
It also remains unclear whether a criminal case covering 2022 to 2025 conduct would bar, slow or leave untouched BTGT's bid for a licensed local operator. Thailand's broader policy mix favors regulated venues: it has approved a multi-year capital-gains tax break only for trades on SEC-regulated platforms, while unlicensed platforms face investor alerts, access blocks and now a police referral.
Why It Matters
For Traders
Bitget users in Thailand who hold assets on the platform face an access cutoff on Dec. 5, so withdrawal planning before that date is the immediate practical concern.
For Investors
Thailand's pairing of criminal referrals with access blocks signals that regulators in the region will pursue unlicensed offshore exchanges directly rather than relying on warnings alone.
For Builders
Exchanges serving Southeast Asian users need jurisdiction-specific licensing and geo-gating, since promotional content in local languages can itself be cited as evidence of unlicensed operation.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
