Russian Programmer Kidnapped After Flaunting Wealth, Loses 10.4 BTC

According to Kommersant, police in Ivanovo, Russia, have arrested five men suspected of kidnapping, robbery, and cryptocurrency theft. The suspects identified their target, a programmer in his twenties, by tracking his luxury cars and overseas travel photos on social media. On September 6, they abducted him to a garage, assaulted and threatened him, stole 1 million rubles in cash along with an iPhone and MacBook, and transferred approximately 10.4 BTC from his crypto wallet to an unknown address, resulting in total losses exceeding 84 million rubles. Following the incident, the victim was abandoned in a wooded area. Police stated that local networks were disrupted due to drone strikes, forcing the suspects to use regular phones, which allowed investigators to intercept their calls and carry out the arrests. All five suspects have prior felony records, and part of the stolen proceeds has been used to purchase real estate and vehicles; they now face up to 15 years in prison.