Reuters in Kiev reported on December 29th that his Ukraine kidnappers had released Pavel Lerner, abducted three days previously, on payment of a ransom worth approximately $1m in bitcoin. Lerner is a blockchain expert and leading analyst at a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the UK, EXMO, of which he is also managing director. He was reported by the local news website, Strana.ua, as having been snatched by six men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, carrying guns. The report said that Lerner had been pushed into a black Mercedes Benz minibus furnished with stolen number plates.

In a text message commenting on the kidnap, Ukraine Interior Ministry adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, noted that it was the country’s first case to be linked to bitcoin and that the kidnap was purely for the purpose of extorting the digital currency.

Strana later reported the belief of local police that the kidnappers released Lerner because they were afraid of the amount of attention the abduction had attracted worldwide, but the identity of kidnappers is still unknown.

No information is given about the ransom payment except that it was in bitcoin and was not linked to the financial assets of Lerner’s company. An official statement from EXMO said that their exchange platform continues to function normally, although a December 28th notice on Twitter had announced that they were under DDoS attack.