A man who sent a mail bomb to a Bitcoin seller and threatened government ministers is having his trial start today in Sweden.
Everyone realizes that there are some very disturbed people flitting their way through society. While law enforcement and governments concern themselves with ransomware and hackers in regards to cryptocurrency, such crimes are not truly violent. However, such is not the case with Michael Salonen, a 42-year-old man from Sweden, whose trial starts today in Stockholm. Police have charged him for sending a mail bomb to Cryptopay, a London-based Bitcoin seller, as well as threatening the lives of 21 Swedish government officials.
Anger Over Account Leads to Mail Bomb
In August of last year, Salonen sent a mail bomb to Cryptopay. The reason for this action seems to be an issue with their customer support. Salonen had an account with the Bitcoin seller and wallet provider and wanted to change his password. He emailed Cryptopay’s support team, but they eventually told him that they were unable to change the password.
His response was to send a bomb through the mail. It was addressed to two employees of the Bitcoin seller: George Basiladze and Dmitrii Guniashov. However, the bomb was sent to Cryptopay in care of The Accountancy Cloud, an accounting firm. The company’s co-founder, Wesley Rashid, opened the package, but fortunately, it did not go off. Police say that the men could have been killed or, at the very least, maimed. Overall, Salonen faces attempted murder charges over the mail bomb.
Government Officials Targeted
It seems that Salonen has some serious anger issues. Other charges he’s facing in his trial include sending letters containing death threats and powder to 21 Swedish cabinet officials. Some of the ministers targeted include the prime minister, defense minister, social affairs minister, and the justice and interior minister.
Luckily, no one was hurt in this criminal activity too. Police determined that the powder in the letters was harmless. Police arrested Salonen at the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm back in May after arriving from Thailand.
Prosecutor Eva Wintzell said in a statement:
I argue that he intended to cause serious fear to those who received the letters. The crimes are aggravated because in each envelope there was a powder which appeared to be toxic and explosive. The threats to elected representatives are particularly serious because those are threats directed against democracy.
Sweden does not have the death penalty. In fact, the Swedish Constitution forbids any capital punishment. The harshest penalty in the Swedish justice system is life imprisonment, which actually is between 10 and 18 years.
What do you think about Michael Salonen getting so mad over his Cryptopay account that he sent a mail bomb to kill people? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
