Russian National Kidnapped for 30 Hours in Bali, Assailants Demanded Crypto Account
Bali regional police (Polda Bali) are investigating the suspected kidnapping of a Russian foreign national, identified as AI (41), allegedly carried out by at least two unknown individuals.
Head of Public Relations at Polda Bali, Kombes Pol Ariasandy, confirmed that a joint team is currently carrying out an in-depth investigation into the suspected interception, abduction and extortion of the Russian national.
The incident took place in South Kuta District, Badung, Bali.
“It is true, we have received a report regarding the suspected criminal acts of kidnapping and extortion against a Russian foreign national. Our team in the field is currently gathering all evidence and leads to identify the perpetrators,” AKBP Ariasandy said on Thursday (9 July).
Based on the report received, the incident began on Thursday (2 July) at around 21.35 local time.
The victim, who works as an entrepreneur, was on his way home from the Hedonist Restaurant to his residence when he passed between Uluwatu Road and Belimbing Road in Pecatu, South Kuta District.
A black car suddenly blocked the victim’s path. Two masked perpetrators got out, handcuffed the victim’s hands with plastic cuffs and covered his head.
The victim was then taken and held in a two-storey house for approximately 30 hours.
During the captivity, the victim suffered physical violence in the form of punches and kicks.
“The perpetrators forced the victim to hand over the passwords to his crypto accounts,” he added.
Beyond draining his digital assets, the perpetrators also seized the victim’s mobile phone.
The perpetrators even took the villa key from the dashboard of the victim’s motorbike to break into the victim’s villa in South Kuta District to take another mobile phone containing access to the crypto account.
After carrying out the crime, on Saturday (4 July) at around 04.00 local time, the perpetrators dumped the victim on the side of Prabu Udayana Road, in front of Udayana University Hospital in Jimbaran, South Kuta District.
“The injured victim immediately sought help at the emergency department of Udayana University Hospital for medical treatment,” he explained.
AKBP Ariasandy said investigators had processed crime scenes at four different locations and questioned a number of witnesses.
Meanwhile, at the villa where the victim was staying during the incident, the CCTV, electricity and WiFi systems were switched off due to a short circuit in the water pump. Regarding vehicle identification, based on initial leads, the perpetrators were known to have used a black Nissan Serena four-wheeled vehicle.
In addition, as digital evidence, the forensic laboratory team and cybercrime investigators have extracted cell dump data at four crime scene points and tracked the timeline of base station movements based on the victim’s phone number, which was briefly active.
He stressed that Polda Bali is committed to thoroughly investigating the case, which has tarnished Bali’s tourism image.
Strategic steps are now under way, including conducting investigation, in-depth analysis and digital forensics on the cell dump results and CCTV footage along the perpetrators’ escape route.
They are also intensively tracking the final movements of the black Nissan Serena used in order to pinpoint the exact location of the house where the victim was held, and hunting down and arresting the gang of perpetrators believed to have planned the crime.
“Polda Bali will not tolerate any form of criminality, especially that targeting tourists or foreign nationals in Bali. We urge the public who saw suspicious vehicles or activity at the time of the incident to report immediately to the nearest police station,” he said.