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Police in Paraguay have launched an investigation into the death of a Hong Kong-born cryptocurrency fund executive as speculation swirled over the case.
Experts on Wednesday also warned of a global rise in violent extortion attempts targeting digital asset holders, a phenomenon known as “wrench attacks”.
Paraguayan police are investigating the death of Harry Yeh Chun-tak, who was found dead outside his residential building in Asuncion after a suspected fall from his 30th-floor flat earlier this week.
Prosecutors said all hypotheses remain open – including accident, suicide or foul play – while the body was transferred to a morgue for an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
According to a Paraguayan newspaper on Sunday, Yeh’s body was found at the foot of the Jade Park residential complex in the capital city’s Trinidad neighbourhood.
Local police reportedly said his naked body was covered with a black plastic bag. Investigators who entered the 30th-floor flat where Yeh was believed to live found the doors open and the interior in disarray.
Police also told La Tribuna that, according to neighbours, Yeh had another flat on the 27th floor. Both flats were examined, and evidence collected was sent to the Paraguayan Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators also searched a flat on the 27th floor where his partner – a 29-year-old Brazilian national – lived.
She stated to police that she was unaware of the incident until authorities arrived. She has been questioned, but no charges have been filed against her, and she is not listed as a suspect.
Yeh, who was said to have been born in Hong Kong, was the founder and managing director of Quantum Fintech Group, a company that describes itself as a cryptocurrency fund for high-net-worth investors.

According to his personal website, Yeh claimed the funds and assets under management handled by himself, the company and his partners exceeded US$2 billion.
While the cause of his death is still under investigation, the incident follows a rising trend of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings and extortion attempts dubbed wrench attacks.
Such attacks involve assailants using physically violent means to coerce cryptocurrency owners into handing over their passwords or private keys. The term originates from a popular webcomic first posted in 2009.
Blockchain security firm CertiK said the trend reached “a critical threshold” last year, with such activities shifting towards being perpetrated by “organised, transnational groups”.
In July, a Russian national in Bali was reportedly kidnapped and tortured for 30 hours until he handed over passwords to his cryptocurrency accounts.
France has also issued warnings about kidnappings and hostage-takings linked to cryptocurrencies, with authorities there reportedly logging more than 40 such cases between January and April this year alone.
Louis Li Sze-chung, a Hong Kong-based blockchain educator and consultant, said criminals behind wrench attacks not only targeted high-profile founders, but also regular cryptocurrency users as well.
The attackers often made use of leaked data from cryptocurrency platforms to help them identify people holding digital assets, he added.
Li said that, unlike traditional banks and asset management companies, which had security measures in place to block suspicious fund withdrawals, it was easier for criminals to access cryptocurrency holdings.
“In crypto, it’s easier,” he said. “It’s just a computer system. If you have the password or the keys, no one will block the transfer.”
“What’s more is that once they have your cryptocurrency, they can use so many tools to launder the money without a higher chance, compared with the banking system, of freezing the money,” he said.

Li said that while such attacks remained rare in Hong Kong, he pointed to a case from 2021 in which a group of men were arrested after attempting to kidnap a cryptocurrency trader for a HK$30 million ransom.
Justin d’Anethan, the head of partnerships at Arctic Digital, a specialist investment and advisory firm focused on crypto and digital assets, agreed that wrench attacks were on the rise, especially in Europe.
“I think maybe the highlights also the weakness of crypto,” d’Anethan said.
He explained that holders of other assets typically trade through brokers or platforms that kept their positions largely invisible, but crypto investors who opt for self-custody exposed themselves to the same physical risk as someone keeping gold or cash at home.
He added that Bitcoin’s speed, low transfer costs and difficulty to trace made it easy to swap for other assets and pull out elsewhere – the features that made the technology attractive were also what made it exploitable.
Those who carried out wrench attacks were not typically knowledgeable about how to use artificial intelligence or other technical methods of hacking their victims, d’Anethan said.
Wilkie Chen, a researcher at blockchain network Tron, said crypto holders needed to safeguard both their on-chain security for their digital assets against threats such as phishing and their physical safety.
He urged cryptocurrency users not to flaunt their holdings, trades or movement patterns on social media or in person.
Chen added that the industry should push for better on-chain privacy tools to prevent large holders’ identities from being disclosed, more diversified security options and closer cooperation with law enforcement.
“Self-protection remains the first line of defence,” he said.


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Paraguay opens probe into Hong Kong-born crypto exec’s death

Authorities in Paraguay are investigating the death of Harry Yeh. Photo: Handout

According to his personal website, Yeh claimed the funds and assets under management handled by himself, the company and his partners exceeded US$2 billion. Photo: Handout

Experts have said Bitcoin’s speed, low transfer costs and difficulty to trace made it easy to swap for other assets and pull out elsewhere – features that could be exploited in wrench attacks. Photo: Getty Images

Yeh’s body was found outside Jade Park in Asuncion. Photo: Handout

Crypto expert Louis Li has said criminals behind wrench attacks not only target high-profile founders, but also regular cryptocurrency users as well. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

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Lawmaker Johnny Ng briefs the media on the suspected scam with more than 10 alleged victims present at the Legislative Council complex in Admiralty. Photo: Jelly Tse

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Experts warn of violent extortion of crypto holders, while Paraguay authorities say all hypotheses remain open in death of Harry Yeh


Experts warn of violent extortion of crypto holders, while Paraguay authorities say all hypotheses remain open in death of Harry Yeh.


Cryptocurrency

Blockchain

Paraguay

Paraguay opens probe into Hong Kong-born crypto exec’s death

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Experts warn of violent extortion of crypto holders, while Paraguay authorities say all hypotheses remain open in death of Harry Yeh

Experts warn of violent extortion of crypto holders, while Paraguay authorities say all hypotheses remain open in death of Harry Yeh