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A police officer in India has been arrested for kidnapping a local crypto trader to get a bitcoin ransom worth $40 million.
Cryptocurrency trader Vijay Naik was the victim of the kidnap by a police officer and seven others who forced him to transfer over $40 million in cryptocurrency, as well as 800,000 Indian rupees ($10,700) in cash.
Naik was kidnapped and held for ransom on January 14th but was released after kidnappers were made aware that the police were closing in on them.
“We have taken eight people, including a police constable who planned the abduction into custody,” a senior officer confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP)
The police officer who was involved in the kidnap is Dilip Tukaram Khandare, an officer trained in cybercrime investigations and who was made aware of Vijay Naik’s crypto fortune.
Last year Hong Kong police confirmed the kidnap of a man who was forced to give up his cryptocurrency keys after meeting up with a man who claimed to be a buyer of Tether. Following several days held in captivity, the victim was able to escape.
The kidnapping of high-wealth individuals is not unheard of in the crypto space, although other crypto related cybercrime is much more common.
The Indian Government also announced this week that it would start to apply 30% taxes for crypto traders on profits earned on cryptocurrencies. In the 2022 budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that all income generated from the transfer of crypto would be subject to a 30% crypto tax.
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