According to CryptoPotato, Hong Kong authorities have arrested three teenagers in connection with a case involving the assault and unlawful detention of a 19-year-old over cryptocurrency profits. The victim was reportedly lured into a room at the Harbour Grand Kowloon Hotel on Tak Fung Street under the pretense of meeting people and trading crypto assets. Upon arrival, the suspects demanded HK$180,000 (approximately $23,000) in profits from crypto trading. The victim was then subjected to threats and brutal assault with baseball bats by two of the nine suspects present at the scene.
The victim managed to alert a friend, who informed law enforcement. While six suspects fled the scene, police were able to arrest two outside the hotel and another within the premises. The arrested individuals, aged between 16 and 19, face charges including assault, unlawful detention, and blackmail, according to detectives from the Kowloon City anti-triad squad handling the case.
Hong Kong authorities have noted a significant increase in digital asset-related crimes over the past three years. Reported cases rose from 1,397 to 3,415, with corresponding amounts involved escalating from HKD 824 million to HKD 4.398 billion, indicating nearly a tripling of incidents during this period.
Crypto crimes have also been reported globally. In India, six individuals faced charges of kidnapping, torturing, and extorting a man who failed to provide returns on their crypto investment. In South Korea, a former spy received a life sentence for kidnapping a woman amidst a crypto dispute and administering a lethal dose of ketamine. In Russia, a 23-year-old crypto miner was abducted outside his residence, with the kidnappers demanding over 15 million rubles for his release.