Tim Heath, an Australian billionaire and founder of Yolo Group, was attacked in Estonia by a group of assailants attempting to kidnap him for extortion of digital assets.
Details of the Attack
On July 29, 2023, Heath was ambushed in the stairwell of his apartment building in Tallinn’s Old Town by two men posing as painters. The assailants attempted to force him into a waiting van, but the billionaire managed to escape by biting one of the attackers' fingers.
Criminal Background
After the attack, it emerged that the criminals had been tracking Heath for weeks using a GPS device on his vehicle. They entered Estonia with forged Georgian passports and purchased necessary tools for the ambush from local hardware stores. The attackers planned to take Heath to a rented sauna house and force him to transfer his cryptocurrency holdings.
Surge in Cryptocurrency-related Crimes
In recent months, kidnapping cases aimed at obtaining cryptocurrency have been on the rise globally. Recently in New York, two investors were arrested for holding an Italian man captive, and several similar incidents have been reported in the US.
The attempted kidnapping of Tim Heath highlights the growing security issues among cryptocurrency investors and raises increasing concerns about the safety of wealthy digital asset holders.
