Key highlights:
- UK authorities have secured the conviction of five members of a London criminal gang for extorting $30,000 in digital assets from two victims
- The victims were kidnapped and tortured in a dingy flat before police foiled the plans of the bad actors
- Meanwhile, violent crypto crime in the UK has surged in recent years, mirroring incidents in France
A London court has convicted members of a gang that held two French crypto millionaires captive, torturing them and blackmailing them into transferring $30,000 in digital assets. While France has become the global epicenter of crypto crime, violent incidents are spilling into the UK, with the same extortion tactics seen across the English Channel.
Victims targeted over crypto wealth
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found Gerson Borges and Mohamed Osman guilty of conspiracy to blackmail and false imprisonment. The trio of William Adebisi, Julius George and Isaac Bakoya were (CARF), forcing exchanges to report detailed user information including full names and physical home addresses, is linked to an increase in incidents.
Unregistered peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and illegal crypto operations in London provide a ready-made pipeline for criminals to move stolen funds. Outside of violent theft, crypto hacks have surged in the first half of 2026, with the Coldcard breach sending shockwaves across the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Source:: London Gang Convicted of Torturing Two French Crypto Millionaires for $30K Ransom