Crypto’s $2M Masked-Moment Heist Had One Brutal Twist: No Wi-Fi, No Chase, No Second Thoughts

Crypto millionaire Evan Luthra says five masked men abducted him in Oxford, England, on November 4, 2025, and stole more than $2 million in crypto and other valuables within about 30 minutes. The Forbes 30 Under 30 investor was returning to London with four friends after an award at the House of Lords and a speech at Oxford University when the driver he had booked through an acquaintance diverted into a secluded, tree-lined lane.

The attackers punched Luthra and said they were only there for him. “Within the first ten seconds, I realised this was a kidnapping. I also realised I was going to lose millions of dollars,” Luthra told BeInCrypto. He chose not to resist: “There were five guys in my kidnapping, so I gave them everything.” The kidnappers took his special-edition Richard Mille watch, which police valued at around £450,000, and used his phone’s Face ID to withdraw several assets worth just over $1.5 million from his Binance account. They also drained roughly $600,000 in Ethereum (ETH) from his Gate exchange account before attempting to access his bank accounts.

After about half an hour, the attackers left with everyone’s phones and abandoned the vehicle in the Five Mile Drive area of north Oxford. Luthra and his friends walked to a local police station, but because the attack occurred in the afternoon, they were still giving statements after midnight. During that period, Luthra had no internet access and could not contact the exchanges as the transfers continued.

Luthra said the delay was the costliest part of the episode. “Looking back, I consider that my biggest mistake. If I had first been able to get back to my hotel, access my laptop and message the people I knew at the exchanges, I believe we could have secured a lot more of the money.” Exchanges can generally freeze funds only while they remain on their platforms, making recovery more difficult once stolen crypto reaches private wallets or other services. Luthra also said the group was lucky: he was hit, but no one suffered a lasting injury.