Three of the victims of Friday’s kidnapping have been found, but the “primary subject” remains missing. According to information obtained by The Pressone of the people kidnapped would be Kevin Mirshahi, a cryptocurrency enthusiast who was the target of threats following a fraudulent affair.
The three victims, a man and two women, were found Saturday afternoon in good health, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) said in a press release. The search to locate the “primary subject” of the kidnapping is still ongoing.
The quadruple kidnapping took place around 4 a.m. Friday morning in the east of the Ville-Marie district. The police were dispatched to the scene following a 911 call mentioning a “conflict”.
According to information obtained by The Press, Kevin Mirshahi, an influencer known in the world of cryptocurrency, had left his home the day before, in the evening. On his return, around 4 a.m., he returned to his apartment located at 859 rue de la Commune Est, in the company of three other people.
Still according to our information, the four individuals were kidnapped in the underground parking lot of the building. Witnesses then saw one or more vehicles leaving the scene at full speed. One or one of the suspect vehicles was found burned in Laval.
For its part, the Laval City Police Service (SPL) confirms that a burned vehicle was found in Laval-sur-le-Lac, in the west of the city, at the corner of Les Plaines and Les Rues. Maples.
An alleged victim known to the justice system
Kevin Mirshahi had been involved in a fraudulent cryptocurrency case in 2021. The young man had told The Press that his residence had been placed under “increased surveillance” by the police following death threats from angry investors.
In July 2021, Kevin Mirshahi was indicted by the Administrative Tribunal for Financial Markets (TMF) in a cryptocurrency case. The influencer was then the head of a private group called Crypto Paradise. This group had helped promote on social networks a cryptocurrency, “MRS”, which a young Laval entrepreneur in his twenties, Antoine Marsan, had launched in February of the same year.
At that time, Kevin Mirshahi told The Press having “brought other influencers” with him in this adventure in order to “create a sort of hype ». The promotional campaign would have praised the MRS by claiming that its value would experience meteoric growth. Nearly 2,000 investors, some of whom were minors, then bet massively in this new cryptocurrency.
The idyll was only short-lived since, in mid-April 2021, a major investor of unknown identity sold 10% of currencies in a single night, allowing him to pocket a significant profit, but causing a drop suddenly the value of the MRS. Immediate cold shower for the thousands of investors who suddenly and collectively lost nearly 2 million dollars.
But the problems don’t stop there. Neither the financing project nor the promotional campaign had been approved by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) as required by the regulatory framework.