P LIVE RESS The O GIBRALTAR BITCON

A KIDNAPPING of two expats foiled by Spanish police last year is linked to an enormous crypto currency scandal set to rock the country, the Olive Press can reveal.

The incredible drama which saw the couple held for several hours took place after hundreds of investors feared they had lost as much as €70 million in the ‘crypto scam’.

The snatching of Russian Pavel Sidirov and his wife in June was initially treated by police as routine extortion, as we reported at the time.

The couple had been kidnapped outside their villa in El Campello, Alicante, by two bogus cops flashing fake Guardia Civil badges and a Russian woman acting as an interpreter. They were bundled into a car, stripped and the wife was tied up and used as a hostage.

The gang then threatened both their lives if they did not hand over the codes to a crypto wallet containing millions.

Tech guru Sidirov cleverly bought time by telling the gang that the codes were distributed in 12 separate houses that they would have to go to

EXCLUSIVE: Kidnap, crypto and the Russians: The multimillion-euro scandal that may have defrauded hundreds in Spain and Gibraltar

By Walter Finch

individually to fetch.

And in one of them - with his wife still bound and gagged in the boot of the car - Sidirov was able to call his lawyer for help.

The lawyer alerted the police, who were quickly on the scene to catch the kidnappers.

Police arrested six people, including a retired Guardia Civil officer, while the alleged ringleader, Carlos Garrido (pictured), handed himself in in the ensuing days to deny he was a criminal.

Scheme

Insisting he wasn’t a criminal, he claimed the scheme was a minor matter and he was merely representing a group of investors trying to recover €2 million ‘owed to them’ by Sidirov. While it seemed to be the end of the matter, the Olive Press can reveal today that the kidnapping is just a small part of a much bigger scandal that is set to engulf the already beleaguered crypto industry.

The kidnapping is linked to a Gibraltar-linked crypto firm that has become immersed in a murky world of trading failures.

According to well placed sources, hundreds of frantic investors are now scrambling to recover their funds from the trading platform Globix, which at its peak had almost €150 million under management.

Over the last few months it has gradually become clear to investors, based in Gibraltar and Spain, that Globix has allegedly lost as much as two thirds of this enormous sum.

And in a bizarre twist, the Olive Press can reveal that the remaining €40 million is apparently in the hands of a shady IT firm based in Ukraine. It happened after Sidirov activated a mechanism during his kidnap that sent the codes to Globix’s partners in Kyiv. An independent investigation by a well known Gibraltar financial company told investors they had been struggling to get any money back from Ukraine. It added the CEO of the Kyiv-based firm had ‘not been forthcoming’ in his efforts to return the money and was ‘now under arrest’.

A statement issued to investors in January, seen by the Olive Press, reads: “The police have been contacted, as has the Ministry (of Finance) and collectively we are hopeful that they will ensure the process is completed satisfactorily.” It added: “We have the Ukrainian special police involved and they have arrested three individuals. They are looking for a fourth individual. These people hold the data that is needed to facilitate the final transfer.”

While this has been hard to independently verify, Globix’ website has not been functioning since November, when a statement was put up reading: ‘We will not be taking on any more accounts’.

When contacted by the Olive Press for comment, the alleged boss of Globix dismissed all the allegations against him and his

WOMEN had a packed discussion at the Garrison Library on how to increase their role in society.

The talk, led by Minister for Equality Samantha Sacramento, was to set the scene for today’s International Women’s Day.

The focus of the discussion was, ‘Where are the women of Gibraltar?’, talking about the historical facts that influence women’s participation in everyday life.

Sacramento is currently the only woman in Gibraltar’s government.

The fireside chat started with presentations to the audience before speeches from leading women.

Dr Jennifer Ballantine Perera, Director of the Gibraltar Garrison Library, talked about the cultural norms that keep women from advancing in society.

Ministry of Equality Policy Development Officer Marlene Dalli then spoke about how women were under-represented and its impact on the social order.

After the speeches, the women moved on to an open discussion on the topics at hand.

“This has been a wonderfully inclusive gathering and such a good way to kick start future International Women’s Day events this month,” Ballantine Perera said.

“The aim is to bring about change through a greater understanding of how we as a society feel about these important questions.”

Sacramento said she was impressed by the ‘huge appetite for these discussions’ as the event was over-subscribed.

She revealed that she had planned to launch a series of these fireside chats before COVID-19 hit so she was enthusiastic to pick up on the idea.

“This is the first of a series of fireside chats which will serve to keep the conversation going but, more importantly, will inform the ongoing work we undertake at the Ministry of Equality.”

‘Embrace Equity’ is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.

DISPARITIES in pay between men and women in Andalucia vary by over 15% depending on province.

While the gap is just 12.5% in Almeria, it rises to as much as 28.3% in Huelva.

And while the difference in salary in Malaga (19.8%) is close to the national average of 20.05% it means men make €20,003 per year, while women get €15,992.

The most alarming statistic however, is that across Spain the pay gap appears to be widening, with the Gestha union claiming it grew by €120 between 2020 and 2021.

Cave success

MINISTER for Heritage John Cortes said he was ‘very happy with the progress’ of the Gorham’s Cave World Heritage Site at a local UNESCO advisory forum.

Civil stars

THE Gibraltar government rewarded public servants for their work and dedication in a ceremony designed to increase morale and honour excellence.

Women cops

LOCAL women police officers met Gibraltar’s Minister for Justice before they left for a Women in Policing Conference in the UK.

Nursery time

GIBRALTAR’S department of education invited parents and carers to apply for their children to enrol at nursery and reception places in the 2023/24 academic year.

A CUSTOMS drugs dog sniffed out two kilos of hash in the back of a car coming across the frontier into Gibraltar.

Customs officers challenged the La Linea man in the vehicle lane of the frontier, and when they smelled the hash, brought out the drugs dog.

Hash Hound Carrier

The canine then did the rest, quickly locating the cannabis resin in the luggage compartment of the vehicle. Customs officers then arrested the man.

A court sentenced J.R.V., 45, to three months in prison for possession and possession with intent to supply the hash, which had a street value of around £10,000.