The first case of kidnapping with Bitcoin extortion: the family did not pay a penny

It's great to be alive↑ Huang Yukun, chairman of Hong Kong Oriental Pearl Petroleum, was kidnapped for 38 days and was rescued in Yunlin County. He is in good physical and mental health. He only said that he was in pain after being kidnapped for many days, but he is not seriously injured. (Photo by Zhang Zhaoxin)

     The police rescued Hong Kong tycoon Huang Yukun yesterday. The kidnappers had agreed to pay the ransom yesterday. What was special was that the criminals actually asked for the ransom in Bitcoin. In the end, the family did not pay a penny, and the police rescued the hostage. The task force admitted: "This is the first case in the world!" It is suspected that there is an accomplice who is familiar with Internet technology and is behind the scenes in Hong Kong to manipulate this case.

     Bitcoin is a consensus-driven encrypted internet currency. In 2009, Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto created the first 50 bitcoins in history through peer-to-peer network transmission. Since then, users (players) have increased their value through online speculation commonly known as "mining."

     It is understood that the United States currently recognizes its legal status as a currency and can be used for legal transactions. However, players can trade online, so it is not difficult to launder it into local legal currency.

     When the task force checked the surveillance cameras, they found that Huang was taken into a car by the kidnappers. The kidnappers had also sent two videos from Taiwan to Huang's head office in Hong Kong, showing Huang Yukun being controlled to look at the "Human Blessings News" newspaper that day. They confirmed that Huang had been kidnapped. The Hong Kong police also joined forces with the Taiwan police to launch a rescue operation.

     During this period, Huang's wife received a phone call, and the other party suggested that it might be related to a $600 million oil investment debt. The police changed the investigation to a kidnapping and ransom case.

     In fact, the task force had already grasped the identity of the main suspect surnamed Cai at the end of September, but after the suspect took the person south, he changed to the coastal highway in Dajia, Taichung and arrived in Yunlin. The police went south to look for the person and reviewed the surveillance cameras. It was not until the middle of this month that the criminals sent an email to the Hong Kong Oriental Pearl Company, attached a video showing Huang still alive and injured, and demanded to negotiate a ransom with the family, that they learned that Huang was still alive.

     After Huang's wife learned about it, she went to Hong Kong last week to handle fundraising matters accompanied by Li Yangji, the second captain of the Fourth Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The criminals demanded a ransom in Bitcoin, which shocked everyone. After bargaining, the criminals agreed to 70 million Hong Kong dollars, but emphasized that payment must be made in Bitcoin. Under the guidance of the police, Huang's wife asked via email: "Don't know how to use it?" She also used this to delay time for the criminals, strive for more contacts, and analyze the virtual account and email IP location, but she was unable to track them down. Huang's wife and police officers returned to Taiwan the afternoon before yesterday.

     In addition, the police kept in constant communication with Huang's wife. After using traditional investigative methods to locate the hostage in a temple in Yunlin, Huang's wife agreed to let the police close the net to rescue the hostage. Only then were the hostage successfully rescued when the kidnappers had not yet decided how to pay the ransom.