Russian programmer targeted in 10.4 BTC crypto kidnapping after luxury-car photos

Russian prosecutors in the Ivanovo region arraigned five men all with prison records over the kidnapping of a programmer in his early 20s to obtain 10.4 BTC; they face up to 15 years on kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges. Investigators say the men targeted him after he posted supercar photos and traveled abroad then seized him near a shop on September 6 and held him at the Energetik garage where they beat him for about five hours and took 1 million rubles an iPhone a MacBook account access and 10.4 BTC worth about $800,000. Police traced the suspects after intercepting calls when a Ukrainian drone attack disrupted internet service and a court ordered three held until late December 2026.