Kidnapped WonderFi CEO released after paying $720k ransom

Dean Skurka is the president and CEO of WonderFi, a Canadian crypto company
Skurka was forced into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour
He said that client funds and data remain safe and weren’t impacted by the kidnapping

The kidnapped CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency company WonderFi has returned safely after electronically transferring CAD$1 million ($720,000) to his captors.

On Wednesday, at around 6 p.m. during rush hour, Dean Skurka, the president and CEO of WonderFi, was forced into a vehicle in the area of University Avenue and Richmond Street W. in downtown Toronto, reports CBC.

Skurka was ordered to pay the ransom demand of CAD$1 million. He was later released in Centennial Park in Etobicoke, according to a source close to the investigation. Speaking about the kidnapping, Skurka said:

“The safety and security of all of WonderFi’s employees are paramount. Client funds and data remain safe, and were not impacted by this incident.”

According to Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief security officer of Casa, a security firm focused on protecting crypto users, Skurka’s kidnapping is the 171st case where violence has been used to target crypto holders.

Lopp said:

“As the [Bitcoin] price goes up, more awareness of the space permeates throughout society and as a result, more criminally minded people decide they want to try to figure out what the ROI of executing a physical attack against a known crypto holder is.”

The kidnapping comes at a time when Bitcoin is going through a price rise.

Yesterday, Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high of $76,677 on major crypto exchanges. The new price came amid the US Federal Reserve announcing a 25 basis points interest rate cut.

Earlier in the week, Bitcoin broke a new all-time high of $75,317 as voting results signalled a Donald Trump win for the White House.