Australian billionaire Tim Heath survived a kidnapping attempt by fighting off his alleged abductors who had pretended to be tradies painting the hallway of his apartment building.
The Victorian business mogul has been living in Estonia since the early 2000s, setting up one of the country’s most successful startups, Yolo Group, estimated to be worth 814 million euros ($1.3 billion).
Mr Heath has made his wealth through launching betting platforms and online casinos that accept cryptocurrency.
Prosecutor Lauri Jõgi told the ABC it is alleged more than one foreign national was involved in the attempt to abduct Mr Heath from his home in the capital city of Tallinn on July 29.
He confirmed one of them was a Georgian citizen, who has denied his involvement.
“We believe this attempt had been carefully planned, it wasn’t a spur of the moment crime,” he said.
“The people involved were not Estonian citizens. At least one of the persons — who we have also arrested — was not caught in Estonia.”
Mr Jõgi alleged suspects had been plotting for months before pulling up in front of Mr Heath’s old town apartment in a rented van, disguised as painters.
Upon seeing Mr Heath in the hallway, it is alleged the men beat him up but failed to get him into the van as he fought back.
The alleged perpetrators took off on foot. When police arrived, they found documents and items associated with the botched abduction in the van.
Mr Jõgi confirmed the suspects had visited a DIY store twice before the attempted kidnapping and booked a sauna in the small village of Voose, an hour’s drive from the capital.
“Part of the scheme involved a rental, where we believe the victim was going to be taken,” he said.
The alleged perpetrators visited this site two days before the abduction. (Supplied: Airbnb)
The owner of the sauna, Jaanus Orusalu, told the ABC he only realised what it had been booked for, when his friends this week spotted his short-stay rental in a news article about the court case.
He said he had been contacted by the police a couple of months ago, asking to hand over footage of his security camera.
“They didn’t elaborate, just said it was a serious crime against a person or something like that, and wanted to see the CCTV footage,” he said.
He said the sauna had been booked for two nights, from July 29 to 31, but the guests appeared to have left prematurely.
“I did find it strange at the time that they’d booked for two nights, but only spent maybe one evening. Usually people want to stay longer, not leave before the check out,” he said.
“The cleaner also said the house was in great condition and that the sauna had not been used at all.”
Prosecutor Jõgi said it is alleged the crime was financially motivated, but that kidnappings in Estonia were “extremely rare”.
“No doubt this event has had a huge impact on the victim’s sense of safety, given Tallinn is not the kind of place you’d expect these things to happen,” he said.
“For us now, it’s important to look after the victim and his safety while we’re still determining what happened.”