Thailand Files Criminal Complaint Against Bitget, Sets Dec. 5 Block

Thailand's securities regulator has filed a criminal complaint against BG Limited, the operator of crypto exchange Bitget, and asked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to block the exchange from December 5. The restriction covers Bitget's website, its other domains and its mobile app.

The timing is the interesting part. Bitget announced on October 20 that it planned to buy a licensed Thai exchange, and the share transfer for that deal was moved to November 30, five days before the block starts. Two moves, one regulator, but they run on different clocks: a criminal case that moves at the speed of prosecutors, and a technical block with a fixed start date.

What Thailand Says Bitget Did

The SEC says BG Limited offered crypto trading between 2022 and 2025, charged fees for it and promoted the service in Thai through websites and social media. In a November 5 announcement it said those activities needed a digital asset business licence the company did not hold.

The complaint, filed with the Economic Crime Suppression Division, accuses BG Limited of running a digital asset exchange under Section 3 of Thailand's 2018 emergency decree and of providing services without a licence under Section 26, an offence covered by Section 66. A filed complaint is not a verdict. Investigators will examine the allegations, prosecutors will decide whether to bring charges, and the courts will settle criminal liability.

Investigators point to a Thai-language website that showed prices in baht, plus promotion through an X account called "Bitget Thailand", a Telegram group named "BGB Thai Holder" and a TikTok account called "bitgetthailand". The complaint also names Kritsana Kritsananuwat, accused of helping promote Bitget on Facebook and YouTube. The SEC filed a separate complaint against him in March 2025 over allegations he promoted OKX's unlicensed exchange activity.

Why the Block and the Complaint Are Separate

The access block runs on Thailand's 2025 Royal Decree on Measures for Preventing and Suppressing Technology-Related Crimes, which lets the ministry cut off unlicensed digital asset platforms. It has a date, and it happens on that date, whether or not the criminal case is ever charged.

The complaint is the slower track. It went to the Economic Crime Suppression Division, which investigates before prosecutors decide whether to proceed. Thailand has done this before: in June 2025 it blocked five unlicensed exchanges, including Bybit, OKX and CoinEx, under the same framework. Licensing for digital asset businesses has been required since 2018, and the rules were tightened in April 2025 to reach foreign platforms targeting Thai users.

Bitget's own October user agreement already listed Thailand among the jurisdictions restricted from accessing the international platform.

Bitget's Route In: Buy a Licensed Exchange

On October 20, Bitget said it planned to acquire GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), which runs the licensed Z.com EX platform, through BTGT Management (Thailand), a company in which Bitget said it held an interest. The sale covered a 99.94% combined stake held by GMO Internet and its Thai subsidiary.

The completion was always conditional. Bitget's own announcement said the sale and purchase agreement was "subject to applicable regulatory approval, among other conditions". CEO Gracy Chen framed the deal as a local foothold: "Thailand is an important part of Southeast Asia's digital asset landscape, and this acquisition gives us a great opportunity to establish local operations in a thriving country."

GMO Internet's September 24 sale disclosure added that the buyer's major shareholders would follow the Thai SEC's major-shareholder approval rules.

Where the Deal and the Block Collide

GMO pushed the scheduled share transfer from October 31 to November 30, saying in an October 30 update that it needed more time for applications, approvals and other completion steps in Thailand. That places the transfer before the December 5 cutoff, which is the whole difficulty here: the buyer is being blocked as an unlicensed platform in the same weeks it is waiting on approval to run a licensed one.

The SEC's November 5 notice does not announce a decision on the acquisition. Bitget has said it intends to launch a locally operated platform only after the purchase completes and the required change-of-control approval comes through.

Bitget has not commented publicly on either the block or the complaint. The regulator's advice to investors is to check whether a provider holds authorisation, through its website or the SEC Check First app.

December 5 is the date to watch on both tracks: the block takes effect that day, and the pending sale still needs a green light the SEC had not given when it published its notice.