Blackmailers target customers of hacked Liechtenstein bank - paper

Citychamp Watch & Jewellery

27/11/2016 11:27

ZURICH/HONG KONG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Customers of a 
Chinese-owned Liechtenstein bank are being told by unknown 
blackmailers they must pay a portion of their savings or face 
having account details sent to finance authorities and the 
media, a German newspaper reported on Sunday. 
    Those targeted have accounts at Valartis Bank Liechtenstein, 
located in the tiny Alpine principality sandwiched between 
Austria and Switzerland, Bild am Sonntag reported. 
    A majority of the Liechtenstein bank was sold by 
Swiss-listed Valartis Group  VLRT.S  earlier this year to 
Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd  0256.HK , a Hong 
Kong-based holding company chaired by Hon Kwok Lung. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N17A08U 
    A phone call and email to Valartis Bank Liechtenstein 
director Andreas Insam were not immediately returned. Citychamp 
also did not answer a phone call late Sunday in Hong Kong. 
    Valartis Group also did not return an email seeking comment. 
    Unknown hackers found their way into the Liechtenstein 
bank's system and obtained customer account information, 
including that of many Germans, the newspaper reported, adding 
politicians, actors and high net worth individuals were among 
Valartis Liechtenstein's customers. 
    The hackers are demanding 10 percent of the account 
balances, to be paid in Internet cryptocurrency Bitcoin to help 
preserve anonymity, Bild reported. 
 
 (Reporting by John Miller in Zurich and Farah Master in Hong 
Kong; Editing by Mark Potter) 
 ((zurich.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7336;)) 
 
Keywords: LIECHTENSTEIN BANK/CYBERCRIME