Crypto investor Evan Luthra has publicly detailed a November 4, 2025, attack in Oxford, England, in which he says five masked men kidnapped and assaulted him before stealing more than $2 million in digital assets. The operation reportedly took about 30 minutes. Luthra, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, said just under $1 million of the stolen funds has been recovered. One suspect faces charges, but the trial has been postponed to November 2027.
How the robbery unfolded
According to Luthra’s account, he had just attended an event at Oxford University and was with four friends when five masked assailants ambushed the group. The attackers assaulted Luthra and forced him to unlock his phone using Face ID. Once inside the phone, the kidnappers moved quickly. The haul included more than $1.5 million taken from Binance and approximately $600,000 worth of Ethereum (ETH) from Gate.io. The group also took a Richard Mille watch valued at around £450,000.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the incident and opened an investigation that included financial tracing and a review of CCTV footage.
Recovery, court orders, and a frustrating delay
Some of the money has been returned. Luthra said nearly $1 million in assets was recovered with help from exchanges and a UK court order issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Binance’s share of that recovery for Luthra came to about $370,000.
Luthra has also pointed to a source of frustration: he said delays in getting access to his phone, which he attributes to police procedures, made the situation worse and significantly affected how much he ultimately lost. Luthra’s public profile has been cited as a potential factor in why he was targeted.
The case against the suspect
Legal proceedings are underway against one suspect, Abdul Malik Cali, 24, who faces five counts of conspiracy to commit robbery. The trial was originally scheduled for November 2026 but has since been postponed until November 2027, meaning more than two years will have passed between the attack and a courtroom reckoning.
Luthra’s identity as the victim was not publicly known at first. It came out months later, in a November 2026 interview in which he also described the partial recovery of his assets.
The wider problem of wrench attacks
The case lands amid a reported surge in so-called wrench attacks against crypto investors around the world. The term refers to criminals who skip hacking entirely and use physical force to make a victim hand over access.
What this means for crypto holders and exchanges
Exchanges also have a role that this case puts on display. Binance’s recovery of roughly $370,000 for Luthra shows that centralized platforms can sometimes freeze or claw back funds when they work with law enforcement and courts. The gap between more than $2 million taken and just under $1 million recovered shows how much can slip away before anyone acts.
The POCA court order used in this case shows that existing UK proceeds-of-crime tools can be applied to digital assets held on exchanges, which may give future victims a clearer path to getting at least part of their funds back.
