Bitcoin Kidnapper: 11 Police Officers Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
- Fourteen people have now been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a businessman and then extorting his Bitcoin, according to local media.
- Among those convicted are eleven police officers from the Indian FBI.
- According to the report, the men, together with accomplices, lured Shailesh B. to a gas station under false pretenses in February 2018, then kidnapped him and held him captive on a nearby farm.
- The police officers initially threatened B. at gunpoint before demanding that he transfer 176 Bitcoin to the extortionists. According to the report, the parties agreed on 34 BTC (approximately $150,000).
- A courier was supposed to withdraw the money and deliver it to the blackmailers, but sensed suspicion and alerted the authorities. The police officers and three other accomplices were subsequently arrested.
- The accused officials have now been convicted not only of kidnapping and extortion, but also of serious violations of corruption laws in India.
- But there's another twist: The kidnapped B. himself acted as an extortionist in another case. Prosecutors accuse him of kidnapping two promoters of the well-known crypto scam BitConnect and stealing 2,091 Bitcoin and 11,000 Litecoin from them.
- Kidnappings occur repeatedly in the crypto space. Since the beginning of the year, there have also been several incidents in Europe – most recently in France.
- Similar incidents have also been reported in the US: In Las Vegas, three teenagers robbed a crypto investor, stealing $4 million in digital assets. In California, an OnlyFans influencer was also attacked by teenagers who wanted access to her Bitcoin assets.
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Sources
- Hindustan Times reports
- Reports from the Times of India
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