Iceland's 'bitcoin heist' suspect flees to Sweden on PM's plane
A man at the centre of one of Iceland's biggest computer heists broke out of prison and is believed to have fled to Sweden – on the same flight as the Icelandic prime minister.
Sindri Þór Stefánsson was arrested earlier this year and imprisoned at a low-security prison less than 100 kilometres from Keflavik International Airport on Iceland.
But he escaped and is believed to have used a fake passport to board a commercial flight to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport – the same plane carrying Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who was on her way to a summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi in Sweden on Tuesday.
Stefánsson was still at large on Wednesday afternoon, reports Icelandic news site Visir.
"We have been informed by Icelandic police that a detained man has escaped and is suspected of having made it to Sweden. The man has not been detained in Sweden," said Swedish national police spokesman Stefan Dangardt in a statement.
Stefánsson was one of around a dozen people arrested earlier this year, suspected of having stolen hundreds of computers from data centres across Iceland in what has been dubbed the "Big Bitcoin Heist".
The machines are worth around $2 million and can be used to create digital currencies.
File photo of a data centre in Iceland. Photo: AP Photos/Egill Bjarnason
Comments
See Also
Sindri Þór Stefánsson was arrested earlier this year and imprisoned at a low-security prison less than 100 kilometres from Keflavik International Airport on Iceland.
But he escaped and is believed to have used a fake passport to board a commercial flight to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport – the same plane carrying Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who was on her way to a summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi in Sweden on Tuesday.
Stefánsson was still at large on Wednesday afternoon, reports Icelandic news site Visir.
"We have been informed by Icelandic police that a detained man has escaped and is suspected of having made it to Sweden. The man has not been detained in Sweden," said Swedish national police spokesman Stefan Dangardt in a statement.
Stefánsson was one of around a dozen people arrested earlier this year, suspected of having stolen hundreds of computers from data centres across Iceland in what has been dubbed the "Big Bitcoin Heist".
The machines are worth around $2 million and can be used to create digital currencies.
File photo of a data centre in Iceland. Photo: AP Photos/Egill Bjarnason
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.