Belarus Convicts Electrician for Extorting Bitcoins

A Belarusian court sentenced a resident of Grodno to 13 years in prison for robbery and attempted extortion of cryptocurrency, the republic's prosecutor's office reported.

According to the investigation, last year the attacker and his accomplice broke into the apartment of a Minsk resident, posing as electricians. During the incident, they hit the owner of the apartment with a stun gun, threatened to kill him and demanded that he transfer 5,750 BTC, which at the time of the incident was estimated at more than 1 billion Belarusian rubles. The victim did not give in to the threats, after which the attackers tied him up and gave him 24 hours to comply with the demands.

One of the criminals was arrested and will spend 13 years behind bars. The second fled the country.

Earlier it was reported that three young people from the United States are accused of kidnapping , extortion and theft of cryptocurrencies.