Crypto millionaire and investor Evan Luthra shared harrowing particulars of an alleged kidnapping in Oxford, England, final November, claiming 5 masked males pressured him handy over greater than $2 million in cryptocurrency inside simply half-hour.
The attackers allegedly punched him, stole his special-edition Richard Mille watch, and used Face ID to unlock his telephone earlier than accessing his Binance and Gate accounts.
Oxford Journey Turns Into Nightmare
The incident reportedly befell on November 4, 2025, whereas Luthra was visiting the UK for Halloween. His journey included receiving an award on the Home of Lords and delivering a speech at Oxford College. Luthra was returning to London with 4 buddies after attending the occasion. Their non-public driver, who had been taking him round for a number of days, all of a sudden changed into a secluded lane lined with bushes. In keeping with his account, 5 masked males then entered the automobile, punched him and informed the others they had been solely there for him.
He mentioned he shortly realized what was occurring and determined to not combat again. The attackers first took his special-edition Richard Mille watch, which police valued at round £450,000 (value over $6 million). They then used his Face ID to unlock his telephone and acquire entry to his change accounts.
Luthra claims the attackers withdrew a number of crypto belongings value greater than $1.5 million from Binance. Additionally they took roughly $600,000 in Ethereum from his Gate account earlier than trying to entry his financial institution accounts. After round half-hour, the lads reportedly left with the group’s telephones.
Police recognized the 5 Mile Drive space of north Oxford as the placement the place the automobile was deserted. Luthra believes the attackers already knew who he was. He suspects the one that organized his driver might have been concerned in planning the kidnapping, though he has not offered proof of this.
Wrench Assaults Are Escalating
The Oxford incident comes amid different instances involving criminals concentrating on folks over cryptocurrency. In France, the issue seems to be rising. Inside Minister Laurent Nuñez revealed on June 30 that authorities had recorded 77 cryptocurrency-related instances involving kidnappings, extortion and tried kidnappings for the reason that starting of the yr, up from 45 in 2025.
Talking to the Affiliation of Digital Asset Holders (ADAN), he mentioned round 200 folks had been arrested both after assaults or earlier than they may very well be carried out. In the meantime, 724 folks working within the trade have registered on authorities identification platforms, an 11% enhance.
The issue just isn’t restricted to Europe. In September, two armed brothers allegedly held a Minnesota household hostage for 9 hours and compelled the daddy to switch round $8 million in cryptocurrency.
Earlier, in January, former Ukrainian banker Alexandru Adarici was killed in Milan throughout an alleged kidnapping plot involving a €250,000 crypto ransom. One other French sufferer, a 74-year-old man, was held captive for 16 hours as attackers demanded €3 million from his son.
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