The brutal attack occurred on a Monday evening in late July in the Old Town and was carried out by foreign nationals who had come to Estonia for the express purpose of trying to abduct Tim Heath, an Australian national.

In a scenario almost like something out of a movie, the paper reports that on July 29, men posing as painter-decorators and wearing hi-vis vests pulled up in a rental vehicle on Rataskaevu and entered the stairwell of an apartment building where Heath resides, lying in wait for him.

It was only after a second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court hearing concerning one of the suspects, Georgian citizen Ilgar Mamedov, who had been held in custody since the attack and was requesting release, that the paper learned of the kidnapping attempt – which was fortunately foiled as the target was able to fight off his assailants once they had pounced.

Heath, 46, is a long-term expat in Estonia and has been a driving force in developing cricket here, but is internationally known for founding Yolo Group, which includes cryptocurrency-based online casinos and sports betting platforms and employs over 900 people.

Heath’s companies have been shirt sponsors of several English Premier League football teams, while the Australian Financial Review estimates his fortune at 2.27 billion Australian dollars (€1.4 billion), currently placing him 62nd on the rich list in his home country.

The attempted kidnapping happened just over a week before the grand opening of the Bombay Club, a casino for high rollers, also on Rataskaevu, which features opulent gaming rooms, guest rooms, cigar lounges, restaurants, and other facilities.

The criminals had reportedly bought equipment they thought they needed from a hardware store days before and planned to take their victim to a remote hideout in the Kakerdaja bog, around 65 kilometers from Tallinn.

They had rented the property via Airbnb, but since it was decked out with a security camera, and the gang had used a Bolt rental car, this made it easier for Estonian authorities to track their movements and apprehend them.

The prosecutor confirmed an ongoing investigation into the botched kidnapping, stating that none of the criminals are Estonian citizens, the motive was likely financial, and while the number involved or their roles remain unclear; the only named suspect, Mamedov, was apprehended in Lithuania and extradited to Estonia.

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