Thailand SEC accuses Zipmex of allegedly breaching regulations

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Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alleged that embattled Zipmex violated local rules. The matter has since been reported to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, and upon completion of its independent review of the facts, it may decide to pursue a case against the exchange.

The SEC disclosed that Zipmex and its co-founder Eklarp Yimwilai failed to report all pertinent details surrounding the pausing of withdrawals and deposits on the platform. Zipmex told customers that it had run into some difficulty over its ZipUP+, which contributed to its decision to halt withdrawals.

The securities watchdog wrote that Zipmex did not disclose full details about the move to the commission’s office within the stipulated time frame and failed to give “reasonable cause or an unreasonable excuse.”

“Such actions by Zipmex and Mr. Eklarp are considered to be non-compliance with the competent official’s orders, which is an offense and has a penalty under section 75 of the Digital Assets Act,” said the report.

“The SEC has accused Zipmex and Mr. Erklarp [to the authorities] to consider legal action,” it added.

In its defense, Zipmex noted that the reason for the delay in sending necessary details to the securities regulator lies in its concern not to breach the data privacy of its users. Zipmex’s blog post noted that the firm is “currently in the process of compiling relevant documents” belonging to all its affected entities.

“Any disclosure of Zipmex Pte. Ltd.’s information must be carried out with utmost care and consideration to ensure that regulations are fully complied with and standards such as data privacy are duly observed,” the blog post read.

Zipmex tries to weather the raging storm

Zipmex has endured a turbulent couple of months as the exchange fights for its survival amid dire macroeconomic conditions. The firm paused withdrawals and deposits for customers on the platform back in July, citing a “combination of circumstances beyond its control.”

Financial difficulty faced by the firm’s key business partners formed part of the reason for the decision to halt operation. The firm’s CEO was quick to brush off speculation that Zipmex was in any financial challenge, saying that it was only a tiny blip in the grand scheme of things.

A few weeks later, the firm headed to court to apply for debt relief and obtained a three-month moratorium from legal cases from aggrieved customers. The courts in Singapore gave the exchange until December 2 to present a restructuring plan to ease the worries of users. Zipmex has lined up an online town hall meeting scheduled on September 14.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, The Future of Digital Asset Exchanges & Investment

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