Six Malaysians are accused of kidnapping and are requesting a $1 million ransom in Tether

All six accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Six Malaysian nationals, two of whom are married, are accused of ensnaring a Chinese national and holding him hostage for a ransom of one million US dollars.

On July 11, at an expressway exit connecting Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, the victim was allegedly abducted by the suspects, who were between the ages of 25 and 29.

The charge sheet describes how the group held the Chinese national captive and demanded the sizeable amount in Tether, a well-known cryptocurrency, according to local media outlet Malay Mail.

Suspects Plead Not Guilty

During a court appearance on August 15, all six accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

However, Judge Amir Effendy denied bail, citing the severity of the offense. He set the next court hearing for October 8.

The judge declared, “After taking into account all arguments and the nature of the charges, the court has decided that bail will not be granted.”

The case has drawn attention to a larger criminal syndicate involved in cryptocurrency-related kidnappings.

Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan revealed that the authorities are also pursuing four additional suspects linked to the abduction.

These suspects are part of an 18-member gang known for similar criminal activities.

In a related development, four members of this gang were reportedly killed in separate police encounters on August 3.

If convicted under Malaysia’s Kidnapping Act, the accused could face a prison sentence ranging from 30 to 40 years, along with caning.

Illegal Crypto Miners in Malaysia Steal Electricity

The case also highlights broader concerns about the intersection of crime and cryptocurrency in Malaysia.

Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, recently revealed that the nation will likely lose $723 million between 2018 and 2023 due to substantial electricity theft resulting from illicit crypto-mining activities.

The Malaysian authorities have been cracking down on cryptocurrency miners since at least August 2019, with Nasir emphasizing that these procedures are carried out in accordance with the country’s criminal procedure laws.

Some seized machines have even been crushed by a steamroller as part of the disposal process.

In addition to addressing illegal mining operations, Malaysian authorities have taken action against unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges.

In May of the previous year, the Securities Commission Malaysia ordered Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange, to cease its operations as it had failed to register its trading services.

Currently, HATA Digital, Luno, SINEGY, MX Global, Tokenize Technology, and Torum International are the only registered cryptocurrency trading platforms in Malaysia.

More recently, a cryptocurrency and forex investment scam syndicate that was active in Malaysia was taken down by the local authorities.

The syndicate, which had been laundering funds obtained through overseas scams, was targeted in a series of raids conducted across the Klang Valley from May 13 to 21.

Consequently, significant quantities of assets were seized, and eight local men and two women were placed under arrest.