Graff Diamonds Corp, a London-based multinational jewelry company was forced to pay a $7.5 million ransom in Bitcoin to a Russian hacker group after receiving threats over data leakage on the company's high-profile clients.
<h2>Insurer Refusing to Pay Losses for Bitcoin Ransom</h2>
According to a <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/billionaire-s-jeweler-pays-7-5-million-crypto-ransom-to-hackers-1.1788313" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">report</a> from Bloomberg, Graff Diamonds Corp sued its insurer, The Travelers Companies Inc. for losses over the extortion alleging that the payment should be covered under their policy. The insurance company, on the other hand, is refusing to pay the jeweler.

In September, Russia-based Ransomware group Conti leaked data on the luxury diamond jeweler's client base which includes Middle East royalty. In an unusual move for the hacking group, Conti apologized to the families but threatened to leak more of Graff's data.
<blockquote><em>"Our goal is to publish as much of Graff's information as possible regarding the financial declarations made by the US-UK-EU neo-liberal plutocracy, which engages in obnoxiously expensive purchases when their nations are crumbling under economic duress,"</em> the group said at the time.</blockquote>
<h2>Ransom was Paid at Bitcoin's Highest Prices</h2>
On November 3, the hacker group accepted half of its initial demand of $15 million to a Bitcoin wallet to stop more of its data from being published.

With a payment of 118 <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/cardano-founder-blasts-bitcoin-developers-for-attacking-pos-mechanism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a> (BTC) worth $7.5 million in November, the same amount is now worth as low as $2.3 million at the time of writing. This means Graff paid the ransom at one of Bitcoin's highest-ever prices.

Diamond Jeweler Pays $7.5M Bitcoin Ransom to Russian Hackers

Graff Diamonds paid $7.5 million ransom in Bitcoin to Russian hacker group after receiving threats over data leakage on the company's high-profile clients.

Jafrin is a cryptocurrency journalist/researcher fascinated by the world of decentralization. She is hopeful towards blockchain’s innovation and its potential to reshape the world for good. Currently, she is bringing out the best of cryptosphere via covering the latest ins and outs of the blockchain space.

Diamond Jeweler Pays $7.5M Bitcoin Ransom to Russian Hackers

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