Bitcoin Miner Lost, Kidnapper Asks For A Ransom Of IDR 2.4 Billion

Bitcoin miners are repairing the mining rig. (Photo; Doc. Cronista)

JAKARTA - A bitcoin miner in the city of Izhevsk, Russia, suffered an unfortunate fate when he was kidnapped by a group of people who demanded a ransom of 15 million rubles (around Rp 2.4 billion) to release him. This incident occurred on December 25, 2023, and became one example of the increasing violence against crypto asset owners in the country.

According to Ren TV's report, the 23-year-old victim was dragged from his home and put into a Niva car, known as a formidable vehicle in Russia. One of the kidnappers turned out to be a close friend of the victim, who knew the victim had a number of high-value bitcoins.

The investigator then contacted the victim's brother via the Telegram application and demanded a ransom of 15 million rubles (around Rp 2.4 billion) in a short time. They also threatened to accuse the victim of being a drug dealer by planting evidence and reporting it to the police.

The victim was successfully released after the police arrested one of the perpetrators and interrogated him. The other perpetrators are still being chased. They were charged with violent robbery which could be threatened with a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

These incidents show how dangerous it is to become miners or crypto owners in Russia, where physical attacks on them are increasingly common. Since 2014, more than 100 cases of violence against miners and crypto owners have been reported, including kidnappings, beatings, and robbery.

One of the famous cases is the kidnapping of a Binance client, the world's largest crypto exchange, in November 2023. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who is usually called CZ, revealed that the client was forced to transfer all of his cryptocurrencies to the kidnappers' wallet.