Canadian Crypto Entrepreneur Survives Kidnapping Attempt in Madrid, Two Serbian Suspects Arrested

A Canadian cryptocurrency entrepreneur narrowly escaped a premeditated kidnapping in Madrid late Monday after bystanders helped alert Spanish authorities to the attack ^[1].

The incident unfolded around 11 p.m. in the city's upscale Salamanca district, when three men ambushed the businessman as he exited a restaurant, dousing him with pepper spray before forcing him into a waiting Ford Transit van. Witnesses on the street and nearby balconies immediately contacted police ^[1].

Officers tracked the vehicle to Ronda de Toledo, roughly 15 minutes from the scene, detaining two Serbian nationals aged 33 and 45, both previously unknown to police. A third suspect remains at large ^[1].

Investigators found zip ties, sedative pills, and firearms inside the van, which carried an altered license plate and had been rented specifically for the operation. GPS data suggested the kidnappers planned to transport the victim to the town of Petrer in Alicante. Authorities believe the motive was to coerce the victim into surrendering his cryptocurrency passwords and a €100,000 luxury watch ^[1].

The victim freed himself from restraints and flagged down a taxi to a nearby hospital. Police established that the suspects had tracked him from Barcelona, where he had been finalizing a cryptocurrency transaction ^[1].

The attack mirrors a broader pattern of so-called "wrench attacks" targeting crypto holders across Europe, with France alone recording 11 comparable incidents in 2026 ^[1].