A woman and her accomplice kidnapped a member of the Saudi royal family and forced him to transfer 40,000 dollars in Bitcoin

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, 24-year-old Catherine Colivas kidnapped a member of the Saudi royal family with the help of three accomplices and threatened to cut off his fingers to force him to pay $40,000 in Bitcoin. Despite the perpetrator's guilty plea, she was not imprisoned.

Catherine Colivas faces a maximum sentence of 25 years at a hearing in Victoria, Australia. She pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, extortion, reckless injury, theft, and firearm offenses. However, she only received a community correction order—equivalent to community service in Australia.

Colivas matched with the Saudi royal family member on a dating app and went out for drinks and dinner. Then, the royal family member escorted Colivas home. As the royal family member walked Colivas to the door, he was ambushed by three men, including Colivas's boyfriend.

The victim was subsequently bound with cables, unable to leave, and was intimidated. As he was a cryptocurrency trader, the victim provided Bitcoin and had to call a friend to complete the $40,000 transfer. Afterwards, his keys were stolen, and the criminals also raided his home. Court documents show they stole clothing, a PlayStation 5, and several iPhones.

The victim was later released and immediately went to the police to report the incident, and then spent the night in the hospital due to injuries to his head and wrist.