30 Minutes, 5 Masked Men and $2 Million in Crypto: Evan Luthra Recounts Oxford Kidnapping

Brief

By Dextape Desk · November 9, 2026

Crypto investor Evan Luthra says five masked men forced him to transfer over $2 million in digital assets within about half an hour during an alleged kidnapping in Oxford, England, last November. According to his account, the attackers took a Richard Mille watch that police put at roughly £450,000, then used facial recognition to open his phone and drained his Binance and Gate accounts. Police identified north Oxford's Five Mile Drive as where the vehicle was left. Luthra believes the attackers knew who he was and suspects someone who arranged his driver may have helped plan it, though he has offered no proof. According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, French authorities recorded 77 crypto-related kidnapping, extortion and attempted kidnapping cases this year, up from 45 in 2025.

Why it matters: The case highlights how criminals are increasingly targeting people holding cryptocurrency, a trend that affects holders across Europe and the United States.

Mentioned: Binance

Summary by Dextape, based on reporting by CryptoPotato. Machine-written from CryptoPotato’s report and checked against it · How Dextape writes