Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has
confirmed that legal action against cryptocurrency promoter Worawat Narknawdee,
also known as “Acme Traderist,” is ongoing, Bangkok Post reported. The statement followed renewed
public attention after more than 30 alleged victims filed new complaints
against him this week.
Complaint Filed With Economic Crime Division
Deputy Secretary-General Anek Yooyuen said the SEC filed a
criminal complaint in March 2023 against Worawat and 1000X Limited, the
company operating the website 1000x.live. The pair are accused of running a
digital asset trading business without authorization.
The case resurfaced publicly early this week, when the alleged victims went to the Central Investigation Bureau to file new
complaints over investments linked to the 1000X platform.
This prompted renewed media and social media scrutiny and
leading the SEC to restate that it had already lodged a criminal complaint
against Narknawdee and 1000X Limited back in 2023 and that the
matter now sits with public prosecutors.
Read more: Thailand Joins Countries That Exempt Crypto Capital Gains Tax, but Only for 5 Years
Victims claim they were persuaded to invest through the
platform, with estimated damages totaling 1.39 billion baht. Police believe Worawat may have left Thailand and travelled to the United Arab Emirates,
where he reportedly has other business interests.
SEC Moves to Protect Investors
To prevent further losses, the SEC said it requested the
Digital Economy and Society Ministry last June to block access to the
platform. The regulator also urged the public to verify whether a digital asset
business is properly licensed before investing.
Thailand’s SEC has brought several similar actions against
unlicensed or improperly operating crypto businesses and promoters in the past
year. For example, it moved to block access to five unlicensed exchanges
including Bybit, CoinEx, OKX, XT.com and 1000X from June last year, after
finding they served Thai users without licenses and referred those cases to the
Economic Crime Suppression Division.
In January, the SEC also filed criminal complaints
against individuals allegedly offering Worldcoin trading services and separate
complaints over unauthorized over-the-counter crypto dealing, again citing
violations of the Digital Asset Business law.
More recently, in February, the regulator lodged a
complaint against a licensed local broker, its overseas platform and executives
for allegedly operating an unlicensed exchange targeting Thai customers,
underscoring a broader clampdown on cross-border and unlicensed activity.
This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
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