Did China offer a bitcoin bounty to have an Australian human rights activist killed? That’s the narrative according to Drew Pavlou, the man allegedly at the center of the “digital attack.”
Drew Pavlou was on China’s Hit List
Pavlou has been advocating for human rights in his native Australia for many years. He always thought he was doing the right thing and that his actions would lead him down a positive, cheerful path, but now, it appears he’s angered some people in China… So much, in fact, that they were willing to pay an assassin in BTC to take him and many of his family members out (including his mother).
Pavlou says his story was covered through “60 Minutes Australia.” Many of the hit notices were sent to grocery stores as a way of finding out more about his mother’s employment, as she was one of the targets. Pavlou was eventually able to track the messages being sent out to a mercenary that works for the Chinese government. In an interview, he stated:
We can’t confirm for certain that the bounty email we received was the CCP itself. At the very least, I believe it is very likely a CCP supporter acting with their tacit approval. It represents a new escalation in their attempts to terrorize people outside of China who protest against the regime.
Pavlou has taken issue with China for some time. He has often protested the government and even disrupted events like the Chinese ambassador’s first public speech in Australia in June of last year. He says he’s repeatedly been harassed by the country’s authorities, and that he’s been publicly condemned by the head of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs.
William Nee – research and advocacy coordinator at human rights NGO coalition China Human Rights Defenders – said:
The CCP often targets the family members of the person they want to silence, since often a dissident is willing to pay a personal price for their activism but will draw the line if they know that their loved ones might be affected. Personally, I’m inclined to see [this] scheme as less of a viable plan and more as a form of psychological intimidation.
Max Galka – CEO and founder of blockchain intelligence company Elementus – said it’s likely bitcoin was chosen as the payment method because China is under the impression that it cannot be traced. He said:
It’s effectively frictionless because it, by design, avoids the barriers of traditional payment rails and third parties.
Maybe Not Real?
Pavlou concluded with:
They didn’t include any evidence that they actually had the bitcoin and didn’t provide proper instructions for people to get in contact with them or claim it, so my suspicion is that this was designed to instill fear and terrorize my family.
