Six Malaysian nations — a married couple and four individuals — were charged with kidnapping a Chinese national and demanding a ransom of 4.44 million Malaysian ringgits ($1 million) in Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
The accused, aged between 25 and 29, allegedly kidnapped the man at one of the exit points of an expressway connecting the cities of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya on July 11. The group then demanded a ransom of 1 million Tether (USDT) tokens for the victim’s release.
Kidnapper demands stablecoin ransom
The charge sheet alleges the wrongful detention of the Chinese man for a ransom amounting to 1,007,696 USDT, according to local media outlet Malay Mail.
On Aug. 15, the six accused pleaded not guilty to the abduction charges. However, Judge Amir Effendy denied bail to the alleged kidnappers and set the next court hearing for Oct. 8. He ruled:
“After considering all arguments and the nature of the charges, the court has decided that bail will not be granted.”
Meanwhile, local police are also working to track down four additional suspects connected to the abduction, all of whom are members of an 18-person gang of experienced kidnappers.
A bigger syndicate of crypto kidnappers
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed that four other members of the gang were shot and killed on Aug. 3 in separate encounters.
If convicted under the Kidnapping Act, the six Malaysians will face a minimum prison sentence of 30 years or a maximum of 40 years and caning.
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Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir recently revealed that between 2018 and 2023, $723 million worth of electricity was lost to illegal crypto mining operators.
Source: Akmal Nasir
“The theft of electricity by those who mine cryptocurrency occurs because they believe this activity cannot be detected due to the absence of meters on their premises,” Nasir explained at an event dedicated to destroying 2,022 seized items worth around $467,000, including Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines and electrical equipment.
Magazine: AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining