Russian police arrest 5 men accused of kidnapping programmer for $800,000 in bitcoin

Prosecutors in Russia’s Ivanovo region have indicted five men on charges of kidnapping and robbery after they allegedly abducted a programmer and forced him to transfer 10.4 BTC, worth approximately $800,000, from his crypto wallet. The suspects, all with prior convictions, face up to 15 years in prison under Russian law. Authorities identified the accused as Antonov, Bronnikov, Chervyakov, Kozlov, and Zaynutdinov, aged between 28 and 52. Investigators stated that the men became interested in the victim after seeing photos of luxury cars such as a Ferrari, BMW, and Mercedes on his social media accounts, along with his frequent travel abroad. The programmer reportedly earned his income as a supplier to major companies, not as a crypto influencer.

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