After sentencing the three kidnappers to 12 years each and ordering civil damages, the court noted that the masterminds behind the attack remain at large. A Belgian court has sentenced three people for their roles in a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping targeting the wife of local crypto entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel. The Brussels Criminal Court handed down 12-year prison sentences to three kidnappers who attacked Winkel’s wife in December 2024, local news agency La Dernière Heure reported on Thursday. The criminals were convicted of hostage-taking after abducting the victim outside her home, forcing her into a van and demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency. Read more
Crypto bettors have staked millions on whether the outfit technically counts as a suit, while a renowned fashion industry commentator hasn’t helped, calling it “both a suit and not a suit.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s outfit at a June 24 NATO meeting in the Netherlands has become the focal point of a fierce dispute between Polymarket bettors. A user on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction platform, created a betting market that asked whether Zelenskyy would wear a suit before July. To settle the bet, a photo or video must show Zelenskyy wearing a suit between May 22 and June 30. The market racked up nearly $79 million in volume. The result initially landed on “yes,” but has been disputed twice since and now awaits a final decision. Read more
The victim of a $20 million crypto scam who sued Citibank last week for allegedly ignoring “red flags” has filed a similar complaint against two more banks. The self-claimed victim of a crypto romance scam who recently sued Citibank for failing to catch red flags has just filed a second lawsuit targeting two other banks. Michael Zidell sued East West Bank and Cathay Bank in a California federal court on Tuesday, accusing the banks of turning “a blind eye to their statutory duties and obligations.” He claimed he sent 18 transfers totalling nearly $7 million to the alleged scammers’ account at East West Bank, and made 13 transfers totalling over $9.7 million to an account at Cathay Bank. Read more
Wave of fake Solana dev group chats in South Korea follows ETF debut, Indian crypto taxes blamed for coin delistings: Asia Express. All services claiming to offer access to JD.coms stablecoin are fraudulent, the Chinese e-commerce giant said in a statement posted on Weibo, a microblogging platform. JD.com said entities are misleading the public by claiming to have partnered with its Hong Kong subsidiary, JD CoinLink. The company emphasized that it has not issued a stablecoin at this point or formed any such partnerships. Fraudulent campaigns are emerging in parallel, according to multiple WeChat accounts warning against stablecoin scams. Fraudulent campaigns are promising users 5,000 JD.com stablecoins for signing up and additional rewards for referring friends. Read more