4 boys accused of attacking man to obtain ¥100 million in bitcoin at Akasaka hotel

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four male youths for allegedly attacking a man at a hotel in the Akasaka area of Minato Ward in an attempt to rob him of the virtual currency bitcoin, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Nov. 24).

At 4:40 p.m. on Friday, the four suspects, aged 18 and 19 and from Fukuoka Prefecture, allegedly beat the head of the man, a 26-year-old employee of a company that deals in bitcoin, inside a room at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo.

“We will stab you if you do not cough up the coin as soon as possible,” one of the suspects reportedly said while wielding a knife.

The suspects then attempted to steal an amount of bitcoin valued at around 100 million yen using the victim’s mobile phone, according to TV Asahi (Nov. 25).

The suspects, who have been accused of attempted robbery, have declined to comment on the allegations, according to the Akasaka Police Station.

The matter came to light after the man fled the hotel room and alerted police.