By The 65-year-old, Capetonian, tycoon, Liyaqat Parker, has been freed after his abduction. The South African’s abductors allegedly requested bitcoins as their ransom.
It was reported that Parker was accosted by five men at gunpoint, on his way to his business premises, in Cape Town, South Africa. Parker is the proprietor of South Africa’s Foodworld supermarket chain.
Walid Brown is a spokesperson for the Parker family. According to The Times, he explained that “the family is waiting for the kidnappers to contact them. They have not received contact from anybody demanding anything”. He continued by stating that “[there has been] lots of information from people that have tips‚ they’ve had hundreds of calls but no credible information.”
It has been reported that the abductors demanded 50 bitcoins as ransom, in exchange for his release. However, his family have refused to comment on the resolution of circumstances surrounding his release and have not disclosed whether or not the bitcoin ransom was actually paid or not.
The family has requested that the public respect their privacy, as they reconcile the emotional, physical and spiritual challenges that Parker and his family underwent during his two-month abduction. According to a statement issued by Liyaqat’s family, he was released on Monday.
On Tuesday morning, Parker did confirm that he had indeed returned home after two months of being held, hostage. Alarmingly, he is not the first Muslim businessman to have been targeted within the Cape Town metropole.
The Unconventional Bitcoin Ransom
The relative anonymity of bitcoin has lent itself to be a preferred means of ransom payment. In December 2017, Pavel Lerner, was abducted in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Kiev is an analyst at EXMO, a crypto exchange. At the time, EXMO had approximately 900 000 users.
Lerner’s captors demanded US$1 million bitcoin in exchange for his release.
The Lerner case differs to that of Parker, as was reported by CNN at the time. It is unclear if the ransom was paid by Lerner himself, his family or by his employer.
The Criminality of Cryptos
The kidnapping and subsequent bitcoin request as ransom money is a phenomenon on an upward trajectory in the global sense. In Turkey, a gang of abductors was recently caught, after they seized an ostentatious businessman. The gang allegedly stole 450 bitcoins which were valued at more than US$3 million at the time. The hostage was released eight hours later. The gang allegedly targeted him after seeing his wealth showcased on social media.
Punjab, India has also fallen victim to numerous kidnappings throughout 2017. The victims were all released in exchange for a bitcoin ransom. The hostages were predominantly in real estate, and their release value was fixed at 20 bitcoins. According to a CCN report, the mastermind was identified as being Deepak, a stock market investor, and bank employee.
A disconcerting truth. Being a successful businessman or even just a regular wealthy guy could position you in the center of a bitcoin abduction. Do you know of anyone or heard of any stories of people who have been abducted in exchange for a bitcoin ransom?
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