Wrench Attackers Learn: Crypto Millionaires Make Terrible Lemonade Stands 🍋

Five men have been convicted at Inner London Crown Court over the blackmail and false imprisonment of two French cryptocurrency millionaires held for 52 hours in an East London flat last July, the Daily Mail reported. The victims, both in their 20s, were ambushed in Shadwell and driven to a flat in Canning Town, where prosecutors said their lifestyles had been "widely published on social media." Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC described what followed as "cold, hard torture." Jurors heard the pair were stripped, bound with tape and cable ties, beaten and had boiling water poured over them. The victims transferred $30,000 after the gang demanded $150,000.

Gerson Borges and Mohamed Osman were convicted of conspiracy to blackmail and false imprisonment. William Adebisi and Julius George were convicted of false imprisonment, and Isaac Bakoya admitted the same charge. All five were cleared of kidnap, possessing an imitation firearm and sexual assault. One victim alleged a sexual assault by two of the gang; jurors cleared them of that offence, but the allegation engages laws protecting complainants, restricting identification of the victims. Yasir Mohamed, who was arrested at the victims' Earl's Court Airbnb after driving to reach a second wallet, was cleared of false imprisonment and the jury could not agree on conspiracy to blackmail. Adel Sineen, who crashed the gang's car into a lamppost during a 70 mph police pursuit, was cleared of false imprisonment and admitted dangerous driving. The man police say directed the plot from abroad, Ibrahim Mohamed, also known as Nino, has not been arrested.

Police traced the flat after a friend dragged from the car left his phone inside the vehicle. Both victims declined to give evidence in person, saying they were too afraid of the gang. Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier said in a statement the case was "a rare example of a conviction of this kind being secured without victim testimony." Defence barristers argued there was no kidnap, saying the Frenchmen had come to east London to buy cannabis and that the demands were largely legitimate; Stonecliffe rejected that, pointing to the aggressive demands one gang member made to the Airbnb. After verdicts, the court heard that three of those found guilty had previous convictions for manslaughter, robbery and possessing a handgun with ammunition.

Blockchain security firm CertiK verified 52 "wrench attacks," or violent real-world assaults on crypto holders, worldwide in the first half of 2026, up by a third from a year ago. Of those recorded, 39 took place in Europe and 33 in France, with recorded exposure of $124.1 million. French prosecutors have charged 88 people over the wave there. In this case, while the victims were French, the attack, arrests and trial took place in the UK. Britain has had its own run of cases, with three teenagers jailed over a $4.3 million knife-point home invasion of a crypto trader, part of a broader pattern that has pushed physical security firms to pitch escorts and panic buttons to digital-asset holders.