thecoinrise.com
After monitoring the trading activities of the digital asset trading firm Bitkub Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has imposed civil sanctions on its Chief Technology Officer Samret Wajanasathian.
According to the charges against him, he has committed an insider trading crime by buying the native coin of the exchange known as Bitkub coin (KUB) while in possession of the firm’s confidential information.
Samret was fined about 8,530,383 baht by the regulator which is approximately $234,000 at the time of this writing.
This fine includes the amount of the KUB tokens and expenses incurred by the SEC during the time of the investigation. Additionally, Thailand SEC intends to place a ban on him for the next year, preventing him from holding an executive position in any crypto firm.
How BitKub Exchange CTO Commit The Said Offence
Samret Wajanasathian purchased almost $61,000 worth of the KUB coin in disguise. He did it in advance of a proposed deal announcement between Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Bitkub.
The financial institution planned on taking possession of about 51% stake of the Thailand exchange worth 17,850 million baht and had publicly declared its intentions.
SCB was just waiting to confirm that the due diligence of the Bitkub Online Company Limited (BO) is completed and is satisfactory.
Also, SCB wanted to make sure that all counterparties agreed to the terms and conditions stated in the purchase agreement. Following the open declaration by SCB, the price of KUB spiked by 101% from 49.53 baht to 99.99 baht, and the CTO sold off his bag.
According to a statement by the SEC, what Samret has done “is an offence of buying KUB coins by being a person who knows or possesses inside information under Section 42(1) and Section 43(1), which has penalties under Section 70 and Section 72 of the Digital Asset Business Royal Decree. 2018.”
Samret has been presented with a memorandum of consent attesting that he agrees with the sanctions levied against him. The ban on taking an executive position will take effect from the day he signs the memorandum.
Meanwhile, the Bitkub company has announced that Samret Wajanasathian is still its CTO pending when the sanction enforcement happens.