D
Da Ji
Guest
May 25, 2010
FBI blackmailer arrested
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> VIENNA - POLICE arrested a 42-year-old Austrian man for trying to blackmail the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with information about alleged attacks, the counter-terrorism bureau said on Tuesday. The suspect had emailed the FBI and two major US newspapers on Friday demanding an immediate payment of 300,000 euros (S$521,055) followed by another one million euros to be paid into a bank account in the United States, the Styrian security and counter-terrorism bureau said in a statement.
In exchange for the money, the man said he would provide information about four bombs that were bound for the United States as well as a list of 200 potential suspects. Styrian police, contacted by US and Austrian authorities, arrested the man on Saturday near Knittelfeld, in southern Austria after arranging a meeting with him ostensibly to hand over the money. The man confessed and has been charged with extortion, police said. -- AFP
