Russia's bitcoin expert Pavel Lerner freed after kidnapping

2017/12/31 0:30:07

Head of a UK-registered cryptocurrency exchange reportedly freed after unknown assailants kidnapped him in Ukraine and received a $1 million ransom

 

Photo: EXMO Finance head Pavel Lerner – Facebook photo

 

 


KYIV, Dec 30, 2017 - The Russian head of a UK-registered cryptocurrency exchange has been freed after unknown assailants kidnapped him in Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reported. The kidnappers released Pavel Lerner in exchange for a million-dollar ransom.

 

The 40-year-old Pavel Lerner resurfaced in Kyiv on Friday, three days after he was abducted by a group of masked men near the Kyiv offices used by his EXMO Finance company. 

 

His kidnappers received a ransom of over $1 million in bitcoin, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister told the Reuters news agency.

 

Lerner is a prominent Russian expert on Blockchain technology which underlies cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He is also the head of EXMO cryptocurrency exchange, where users can trade digital currencies against the US dollar, the euro, or Russia's ruble.

 

It was not immediately clear who paid for the ransom.

 

Access the complete DW article and associated videos at the link below:

http://p.dw.com/p/2q7mW


 

Printer Friendly Page Send this Story to a Friend Create a PDF from the article