Court Lengthens Detention for Eight Defendants in Crypto Trader Kidnapping Incident

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) recently granted further custody of eight detainees to police for an additional five days in connection with the kidnapping of a cryptocurrency trader for a ransom demand.

The victim, Mohammad Arsalan, who works with cryptocurrencies, was abducted on December 25 at 1:40am while in a police vehicle, and his release was secured upon payment of a cryptocurrency equivalent of $340,000.

The apprehension of eight individuals, including two from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), was consequent to their supposed participation in the felony.

Investigation officer Makhdoom Moinuddin presented the accused—Haris Siddiqui, Mohammad Rizwan Shah, Tariq Hassan Shah, Syed Muzamil Raza, Umer Jilani, Noman Riffat, Ali Sajjad, and Muhammad Umer—to the ATC’s administrative judge after their initial remand concluded and appealed for a remand extension.

According to the officer, a part of the ransom—220,000 USDT in digital currency, a luxury car, prize bonds, and cash—was retrieved, while a balance of 120,000 USDT remains to be seized. Further custody of the suspects was deemed necessary for the recovery of the remaining amount and the capture of additional offenders.

On the contrary, the defense advocated against the remand extension, proposing that the suspects be transferred to a judicial remand. The judge, post-deliberation, has extended the police remand for five days, with instructions to the investigation officer to report back with findings by January 23.

Note that USDT is a stablecoin, hence its value is consistently related to traditional currencies such as the US dollar on a one-to-one basis.

Additionally, the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) reported that a Mercedes Benz car, cash amounting to Rs12 million, and Rs900,000 in prize bonds were recovered from the suspects following an intervention by a team led by the AVCC SSP.

The formal complaint, including kidnapping and intent for extortion under Pakistani Penal Code sections alongside anti-terrorism clauses, was filed soon after the crime was disclosed. It described how Arsalan was deceived by individuals feigning interest in purchasing dollars, abducted using a police vehicle by personnel in civilian attire, and compelled to transfer around $340,000 worth of coins from his Binance account to various accounts before being abandoned near the Mazar-e-Quaid.