The CEO of Toronto crypto firm WonderFi Technologies was reportedly kidnapped and forced to pay a $1 million ransom for this release, CBC reported on Nov. 7.
Dean Skurka was “forced” into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during “rush hour” on Nov. 6 and made a $1 million electronic transfer to secure his release, a source close to the investigation told CBC.
Skurka reportedly confirmed via email that he was involved in an “incident” on Nov. 6 but is safe and that company funds and data were not impacted.
Police say the investigation is ongoing and have not released any further details, CBC said.
Skurka and WonderFi haven’t publicly commented on the ordeal on X or their website. Cointelegraph has reached out to WonderFi for comment.
Skurka’s incident adds to a concerning trend of crypto executive and influencer abductions, often motivated by the intent to steal large sums of money.
Four suspects were arrested in July for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 29-year-old foreign national Bitcoiner in Kyiv, Ukraine, stealing $170,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC).
Six Malaysian nationals were also charged with kidnapping a Chinese national and demanding a ransom of $1 million worth of stablecoin Tether (USDT) a few weeks later in August.
WonderFi, backed by Shark Tank co-host and multimillionaire Kevin O’Leary, is one of the most prominent public-listed crypto firms in Canada, tickered WNDR on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has a market cap of $75 million, Google Finance data shows.
The firm develops, incubates and invests in centralized exchanges and decentralized protocols.
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Two of its most used products are its WonderFi layer 2 blockchain and non-custodial wallet, WonderFi Wallet.
WonderFi revealed it holds $1.35 billion worth of assets under custody in an Oct. 30 statement.
WonderFi is the owner of crypto firms Coinsquare, SmartPay, Tetra Trust and Bitbuy — a crypto exchange where Skurka previously served as President from Jan. 2018 to July 2023.
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