Key Takeaways
A man was charged by Dutch prosecutors over a May 1 crypto dispute involving extortion of $69,000.Risky crypto schemes spur offline extortion threats, carrying up to 15 years under Dutch law.Suspect was released on probation before the Amsterdam court holds its next hearing on Sept. 8.
Legal Penalties Under Dutch Law
A dispute over cryptocurrency investments escalated into the kidnapping, extortion, and degrading abuse of a man in Nieuw-Vennep, Dutch prosecutors said Aug. 4 during a preliminary court hearing in Amsterdam.
Three suspects are accused of holding the victim captive in a car on May 1 while attempting to extort approximately $69,000 from him. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the victim told investigators he was threatened with a firearm and warned that his eyes would be gouged out and his fingers cut off if he failed to comply.
Prosecutors said investigators recovered screenshots from a video that allegedly shows the victim held in a wooded area near Nieuw-Vennep, forced to strip naked, and subjected to humiliating abuse, including being urinated on. The suspects are also accused of threatening to publish the footage as part of the extortion attempt.
Under Dutch extortion law, compelling someone through violence or the threat of violence to surrender money or property carries a statutory maximum of nine years in prison. If committed jointly by multiple perpetrators or accompanied by severe violence, the statutory maximum increases to 12 years.
Additionally, abducting or detaining someone against their will carries up to eight years in prison, while hostage-taking carries a statutory maximum of 15 years.
According to local reports, the suspect, only identified as Younes B., 24, a martial arts instructor who teaches children, appeared in court facing allegations of leading a violent and intimidating campaign and engaging in “extremely frightening and degrading acts.”
B. denied threatening the victim with a firearm, and his defense attorney noted that the allegation relies solely on the victim’s statement. His attorney further claimed that B. had invested money with the victim in cryptocurrency, characterizing the arrangement as “a kind of pyramid scheme” that B. had fallen for.
Addressing the victim during the hearing, B. expressed remorse and acknowledged that he and the victim had been close friends for years.
“I took the law into my own hands. I should never have done that. There is no justification for what I did,” B. told the court.
The court ordered B. released under strict conditions starting Aug. 5, including mandatory supervision by the probation service. In its ruling, the court cited that the allegations appeared to stem from “an isolated conflict in a life that otherwise seems to be well-ordered.”
B.’s brother, who is also a suspect, remains in custody. A third suspect was released earlier in the investigation. The court scheduled the next hearing for Sept. 8, when the case could proceed to a substantive trial.
