43-year-old Thrown in Prison After Trying to Bomb a UK Crypto Business

2018-11-12 22:29

A British citizen has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison after he tried to bomb a British cryptocurrency firm. The 43-year-old convict resented the company because of their failure to reset his account password. According to the local police, the pack with a bomb remained unopened at the office premises for over five months.

Cryptopay Office Could Be Bombed

The London Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command noted that a functional explosive device was sent to the Cryptopay office earlier this year. Michael Salonen, a Gullspang, Sweden resident, sent the explosive device in a padded envelope.

In March this year, a man working at the company’s Hackney office block noticed the package and tried to open it. However, he soon became suspicious and alerted the authorities. Bomb experts then came and defused the device while cops from the London Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command poured in.

It was later found that the package had been delivered to the office in November 2017. Cryptopay had not moved into the premises at the time of the package’s arrival. The space was occupied by an accounting firm that was being used by Cryptopay. Salonen probably picked up the address and thought Cryptopay were located there.

Interpol Helped Unveil the Case

The British investigators tried to match the DNA found from the package with UK databases, but their efforts went in vain. They later sought help from Interpol who helped track down Salonen who was arrested on May 12 this year.

He was accused of sending threatening letters to individuals in the UK and Sweden and for attempting to bomb the Cryptopay offices. In one of the threatening letters he sent, he had included a white powder, which was later found harmless. His residence also contained bomb components.

The Met Police found that Salonen was a Cryptopay customer who asked the company to reset his password. His request was refused by the company, which cited its privacy policy for the same. A company spokesperson said:

“[Salonen] contacted our support and we gave him the link to reset his password. He then asked if our team (a support agent) could do it, which we are not able to do.”

Commander Clarke Jarett, head of the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command commented:

“Salonen seemingly made and sent a device that had the capability to seriously harm and even kill over something as inconsequential as a change of password. Fortunately, the bomb did not detonate. It was due to sheer luck that the recipient ripped opened the package in the middle rather than using the envelope flap which would have activated the device.”

Salonen has been found guilty of attempted murder and sending malicious letters.

43-year-old Thrown in Prison After Trying to Bomb a UK Crypto Business was originally found on [blokt] - Blockchain, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Similar to Notcoin - TapSwap on Solana Airdrops In 2024

origin »