Kidnapped crypto executive was reportedly released after paying a $1 million bitcoin ransom [View all]
Source: Business Insider
Pavel Lerner, the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Exmo Finance, has been released from the custody of kidnappers after the payment of a $1 million bitcoin ransom, according to the Financial Times.
Local media reports said Lerner, 40, was dragged into a black Mercedes-Benz by men in balaclavas while leaving the Kiev, Ukraine, offices of his company on Tuesday. The FT reported Friday that Lerner was "released in a state of shock," according to Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian adviser.
"We have operative information that he paid more than $1 million worth of bitcoins," Gerashchenko said. The exchange business Lerner runs is registered in the UK and also has a presence in Spain, Russia, India, and Thailand, according to The Telegraph. The anonymity of bitcoin and its eye-popping gain of more than 1,300% this year have made it a darling of criminals and the so-called dark web.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/kidnapped-crypto-exec-released-after-paying-1-million-bitcoin-ransom-2017-12
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