Crypto exchange, Zipmex, digital asset business license has been revoked by Thailand's Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the nation's finance ministry directives.
Notably, the decision to withdraw the license stemmed from gross regulatory defaultment and will take effect from May 28, 2024. The license withdrawal directive also involved plans and deadlines for customers' refunds, making the process an all-encompassing procedure with customers' interests at heart.
SEC’s Reason For Its Actions Against Zipmex
Taking to the press, the SEC drew the public's attention to the sequence that preceded Zipmex's license withdrawal.
Firstly, the regulatory commission termed the structural and financial management of the company incapable of running a smooth business model that is safe for users and, at the same time, meet regulatory requirements.
Consequently, the SEC issued a deadline ordering the trading platform to work on its administrative shortcomings and regulatory compliance demands.
However, as the deadline elapsed, particularly around February 21, the SEC discovered that Zipmex never took cognizance of the directives issued to it by the regulatory body.
To compound the situation, Zipmex's former CEO Arkalap Yimwilai was arraigned for monetary fraud, as customers' assets were moved from their Thai wallets to unknown accounts, bypassing the regulatory body's requirements for such procedures.
Hence, the regulatory body had no choice but to shut down the trading platform's operations around the Thailand axis in collaboration with the nation's finance ministry.
SEC's Order On Refunding Customers
Aside from withdrawing the exchange's license, the SEC also issued directives on what Zipmex should do with customers' valuables on the exchange.
According to the regulatory body, Zipmex must return users' assets within 15 days. Should customers fail to claim their valuables within the specified timeframe, the trading platform must secure them in a safe system and report the procedures involved in the safekeeping processes to the SEC.
Customers will hope that Zipmex keeps to the SEC's directives, particularly the directives that ordered users' assets refunds, as failing to do so will turn out unpalatable for them.
