Hong Kong tycoon kidnapped and asked to pay a ransom of HK$70 million in Bitcoin, police need to learn more about it

According to Taiwan’s United News Network on October 28, Hong Kong tycoon Huang Yukun was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded a ransom in Bitcoin, subverting traditional methods. Bitcoin is not considered a valid currency in Taiwan and is highly private. The police have no expertise in this area. The professional team did not deny that once the ransom is paid, it cannot be traced at all, and "Bitcoin is harder to trace than a dummy account."

The kidnapping of Huang Yukun took more than a month. The criminals used a number of new technologies to commit the crime, and their methods were beyond traditional ones. The police project team mobilized all possible investigative techniques. The two sides fought back and forth, and the battle between police and criminals was unprecedented.

Bitcoin is an emerging electronic currency in recent years, but it is very controversial and has been repeatedly involved in fraud and disputes. There is no market for this in Taiwan and it is considered illegal, so there is no control mechanism.

In the kidnapping case of Huang Yukun, the criminals demanded 7000万元Hong Kong dollars (about 57.4 million RMB) and demanded the ransom to be paid in "Bitcoin" from the beginning. The family members and the police were dumbfounded when they heard this because no one knew how to operate Bitcoin. On the one hand, the police assisted the family members in dealing with the criminals, and on the other hand, they had to "cram" their knowledge of Bitcoin and suffered a lot.

It is understood that one Bitcoin is currently worth approximately NT$9,590; because Bitcoin does not leave any data, once it is exported, it will completely disappear into the sea, "harder to track than a fake account." The police are worried that the criminals will take the money and kill the hostages, so they decide to take action on the eve of the ransom.

The project team stated that the criminals kidnapped Huang Yukun in an "AB" car, and then used a springboard to forward emails from abroad to extort money, and finally demanded a ransom in "Bitcoin". All of this was carefully planned. The project team members privately pointed out that the entire kidnapping case broke with tradition. The carefully planned criminal method could completely counter the police's criminal investigation technology. They also knew how to abandon telephone extortion and create a new method of Bitcoin ransom to evade investigation. "I have never seen such a sophisticated kidnapping method."

The Criminal Investigation Bureau is aware that Bitcoin may be involved in fraud and used for money laundering crimes, and will study this emerging currency and try to prevent it.

Bitcoin network players: This virtual currency has never been popular in Taiwan

Internet player "Brother Qiang" said that Bitcoin is a kind of online virtual currency that has become popular in recent years. Taiwan prohibits the use of Bitcoin in third-party payment transactions, and there have been Bitcoin fraud cases, so it has not been popular so far, but it should be available on relevant trading websites in Europe and the United States.

"Brother Qiang" said that Bitcoin is a new virtual currency on the Internet in recent years, mainly a credit mechanism. It is said that due to its strict certification, it has gradually become popular in Europe and the United States. Because it can be exchanged for real money, the currency value is also hot, but Taiwanese online players are not keen on it. After the Criminal Police Bureau cracked a Bitcoin money-making fraud case in August this year, players are even more discouraged.

"Brother Qiang" said that since Bitcoin is not popular in Taiwan, it should be difficult to find a trading website. The Criminal Police Brigade of the Taipei City Police Department pointed out that although they have heard of Bitcoin, they do not know why it is and have never received any reports related to Bitcoin.

It is said that Bitcoin was created in 2009 and is a virtual currency on the Internet that does not require a bank. At the end of last year, 1 Bitcoin could be exchanged for 1,150 US dollars (more than 30,000 Taiwan dollars). Last year, governments around the world imposed trading restrictions on Bitcoin. At the beginning of this year, the value of Bitcoin fell to the bottom, with 1 Bitcoin being exchanged for less than 200 US dollars (about 6,000 Taiwan dollars). Now it has risen back to about 290 US dollars (about more than 9,000 Taiwan dollars).