Russian Programmer Kidnapped After Flaunting Wealth, Loses 10.4 BTC

on November 3, according to Kommersant, Russian Ivanovo police have arrested five men suspected of kidnapping, robbery, and cryptocurrency theft. The suspects identified a programmer in his twenties based on social media posts featuring luxury cars and overseas travel, kidnapped him on September 6 and took him to a garage where they beat and threatened him. They stole 1 million rubles in cash, an iPhone, and a MacBook, and transferred approximately 10.4 BTC from his crypto wallet to unknown addresses, causing total losses exceeding 84 million rubles. Following the incident, the victim was left behind in a forest. Police noted that local mobile networks went down due to drone strikes, leading the suspects to use standard landlines instead. Authorities intercepted the calls and tracked them down. All five individuals have prior felony convictions, and portions of the stolen money were spent on real estate and automobiles; they now face sentences of up to 15 years in prison.