Five men have been convicted after two French cryptocurrency millionaires were held for 52 hours in East London and subjected to what prosecutors described as torture. The case centered on the abduction of the two men, both in their 20s, in Shadwell last July and their detention in a flat in Canning Town.

Prosecutors told Inner London Crown Court that the victims were targeted after their wealthy lifestyles had been widely displayed on social media. During the ordeal, the men were stripped, tied up with tape and cable ties, beaten, and scalded with boiling water before transferring $30,000 to their captors, who had demanded $150,000.

Convictions and acquittal

Gerson Borges and Mohamed Osman were convicted of conspiracy to blackmail as well as false imprisonment. William Adebisi and Julius George were convicted of false imprisonment, while Isaac Bakoya had already admitted the same offence.

A sixth defendant, Adel Sineen, was cleared of false imprisonment. He did, however, admit dangerous driving after crashing the gang's car into a lamppost during a police pursuit in which the vehicle reached 70 mph.

Police said the person they believe directed the plot from abroad, Ibrahim Mohamed, also known as Nino, has not been arrested.

How the prosecution described the attack

Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC told jurors that the two victims were ambushed in Shadwell and driven to the Canning Town flat, where they were kept against their will. She said the men may have drawn attention because details of their affluent lifestyle had been published online.

Stonecliffe described the treatment of the victims as "cold, hard torture." According to the prosecution case, the pair were assaulted repeatedly and pressured for money until they sent $30,000, far short of the $150,000 the gang was seeking.

Defence case and missing testimony

Defence barristers disputed that the events amounted to a kidnap. They argued that the Frenchmen had gone to East London to buy cannabis and said the money demands were, to a large extent, legitimate.

The prosecution rejected that account. Stonecliffe pointed jurors to the threatening nature of the demands and to one gang member's aggressive behavior toward the Airbnb property as evidence that the victims were being unlawfully detained and extorted.

Neither victim gave evidence in person. The court heard that both said they were too frightened of the gang to testify.

Why the case stood out

Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier said the verdicts were unusual because convictions in this type of case are rarely secured without testimony from the victims themselves. Police presented the outcome as a notable result given the absence of direct evidence from the two men in court.

After the jury returned its verdicts, the court was told that three of the convicted men had previous convictions for manslaughter, robbery, and possessing a handgun with ammunition. The next confirmed step in the case is sentencing, while the alleged organizer named by police remains outstanding.

Source: decrypt.co