Authorities have charged six Malaysians, including a married couple, with kidnapping a Chinese resident and holding her hostage for $1 million in the famous cryptocurrency Tether (USDT). The suspect, who is between the ages of 25 and 29, is said to have taken the man hostage on July 11 at an exit from a highway that connects Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Court papers say that the robbers held the victim hostage and asked for a 1 million USDT fee to free him. When the six accused went to court on August 15, they all pleaded not guilty to the charges. But the judge in charge, Amir Effendy, refused bail because the charges were so serious. The next meeting is set for October 8.
Since August 2019, the Malaysian government has been severely punishing people who do illegal crypto-mining. In one well-known case, a steamroller was used to destroy stolen mining equipment. The Malaysian government has also taken action against bitcoin exchanges that are not listed, telling some of them to stop doing business.
The Malaysian government recently busted a group of people who were scamming people out of money through fx investments and bitcoin. Eight men and two women from the area were arrested and important assets were taken away during the crackdown.
These events show how hard it is for Malaysia to deal with the problems that come up when cryptocurrency is used for illegal activities.
