Bali horror for 30 hours! A Russian man was kidnapped and beaten, forced to hand over $5 million in cryptocurrency

A Russian man was kidnapped and held captive for nearly 30 hours by masked assailants in Bali, forced to hand over his cryptocurrency account password, resulting in a loss of about $5 million; police have cordoned off four crime scenes for investigation, but no one has been arrested yet.
(Background: 70% of global crypto wrench attacks happen in France (41 kidnapping cases this year)—why?)
(Background addition: French criminals disguise themselves as fake police officers, brandishing knives to force a couple in their 50s in Paris to transfer $1 million in BTC)

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• Plastic zip ties used to bind in reverse, blindfolded and held for 30 hours
• Released outside the hospital, police cordon off four crime scenes
• “Wrench attacks” spreading worldwide— the last mile of crypto security

A 41-year-old Russian man vacationing at the Uluwatu resort area in Bali was intercepted by two masked assailants; over the next nearly 30 hours, he was zip-tied with his hands bound behind his back, blindfolded, and imprisoned and beaten—just to force him to hand over his cryptocurrency account password. The kidnapping ultimately netted the attackers about $5 million in crypto assets, making it one of the most shocking crypto kidnappings on the island of Bali in recent years.

Plastic zip ties used to bind in reverse, blindfolded and held for 30 hours

According to a report by BeInCrypto, at about 9:35 p.m. on July 2, the Russian man—who uses the abbreviation “A.I.” to publicize his identity and runs the Uluwatu restaurant Hedonist—had just finished a day of business and left the restaurant. While riding a motorbike around the Pecatu area near Nangkuta Pecatu, a black Nissan Serena van suddenly blocked his way. Two masked men jumped out and forcibly dragged him away.

The assailants used plastic zip ties to bind his hands, blindfolded his head, and transported him to a two-story building where he was held captive. For the next nearly 30 hours, he was continually punched and kicked until he handed over the password to his cryptocurrency account. After getting what they wanted, the attackers also snatched his Xiaomi phone and used the keys to his villa to break into the residence, taking along a second device connected to another wallet.

Released outside the hospital, police cordon off four crime scenes

In the early morning of July 4, after being abandoned by the assailants outside Jimbaran’s Udayana University Hospital, the man fled and was immediately taken to the emergency room for treatment. As of now, police have launched site inspections at four crime scenes, including the Hedonist restaurant, the kidnapping location in Pecatu, Villa Ukulele, and the release location outside the hospital.

Ariasandy, a senior spokesperson for the Bali Police, said investigation teams are reviewing CCTV footage around each site and analyzing the communication records from the phones involved to track the attackers’ whereabouts. So far, no one has been arrested. Police are still verifying the suspects’ identities and assessing the exact amount of cryptocurrency assets that were stolen.

“Wrench attacks” spreading worldwide— the last mile of crypto security

This case once again highlights a growing pattern of “wrench attacks” in recent years. Compared with hacking exchanges or wallets, attackers are more inclined to directly target the person who holds the funds, using violence to coerce the victim into gaining account access.

The “holders are the bank” self-custody mentality, to some extent, also exposes holders to real-world physical security risks. No matter how strong the passwords are or how secure the private keys are, nothing can stop a plastic zip tie and 30 hours of being beaten. As the value of crypto assets continues to rise, these kinds of violent crimes targeting individuals will likely occur more and more frequently. How to add a physical line of defense beyond digital security will be the next challenge facing crypto holders worldwide.