Men Convicted for 52-Hour Crypto Kidnapping and Torture in East London

Five men have been convicted of kidnapping and extortion after they held two French cryptocurrency millionaires captive for 52 hours in an east London flat.

The victims, both in their 20s, were abducted after parking a rented Mercedes in Shadwell. Masked attackers carrying a gun and knife forced them back into the vehicle, exposing how online displays of success can create physical targets.

The captors bound the men with tape and cable ties, beat them, stuffed socks into their mouths, and demanded $150,000. During the ordeal, boiling water was poured over their bodies, a cigarette was extinguished in one victim's mouth, and threats of mutilation were made.

Police located the gang after tracing a phone left in the rented Mercedes by a friend traveling with the victims. The violence was designed to convert fear and physical suffering into immediate cryptocurrency transfers.