Russian Crypto Investor and Blogger Robbed for $425k

In news from the dark side of the crypto world, Russian cryptocurrency trader and blogger Pavel Nyashin was beaten and robbed at his home in St. Petersburg last week. Local media reports that Nyashin was robbed of 24 million rubles, which amounts to approximately $425,000.

Nyashin stated that the robbers broke into his home on the night of January 14, and hit him in the eye with a pistol butt before tying him up. The robbers initially had a plan to inject him with a drug and kidnap him – the story was corroborated by a man who lives on the top floor of the house and allegedly heard the entire incident as it took place.

However, the robbers eventually settled for a safe containing 24 million rubles and some “essential documents”. They destroyed all the electronic equipment in the house, and also stole a laptop Nyashin used for crypto trading, before fleeing the scene in a Mercedes. The blogger has yet to ascertain whether the robbers have used the laptop to withdraw crypto from his trading accounts online.

A criminal case has been filed with the relevant authorities, although further details have not yet been provided on its progress.

The case is reminiscent of another incident that occurred at the end of last year, when Pavel Lerner, an analyst with the EXMO cryptocurrency exchange, was kidnapped in Kiev, Ukraine. Lerner was forced to transfer 160 Bitcoins to the kidnappers’ wallets, which amounted to roughly $2 million, and has since stated that he plans to close up his office in Kiev and leave the country.