General News
10 November, 2024
Former W'beal billionaire fights off kidnappers
A former Warracknabeal man was the subject of a failed kidnapping event in Estonia, The Age newspaper has reported.
The target of the brazen attack was cryptocurrency gambling magnate Tim Heath.
Tim Heath, 46, is the son of former Warracknabeal residents Don and Glenys Heath and grandson of former Murra Warra-Wallup farmers Bob and Mary Peterson.
The Australian billionaire fought off kidnappers who allegedly attempted to abduct him in Estonia. He survived the kidnapping attempt by fighting off his alleged abductors who had pretended to be tradies painting the hallway of his apartment building.
News.com reported the 46-year-old was set upon by men posing as painter-decorators and wearing hi-vis vests, who had planned to abduct him and take him to a remote hide-out.
Fortunately, Mr Heath was able to “fight off his assailants once they had pounced,” which occurred just over a week before the grand opening of his $100m Bombay Club, a land-based casino for high rollers, that features opulent gaming rooms, guest rooms, cigar lounges and restaurants.
Tim Heath is the founder of Yolo Group.
’s 250 Rich List, and was allegedly attacked at his apartment in the Estonian capital Tallinn in late July.
Mr Heath is a self-made billionaire who started his career with an online poker website in 2013 that would become Bitcasino.io.
He is the founder of Yolo Group, which owns a number of popular online casinos and sports betting platforms, including Sportsbet.io. Yolo Group is based in Estonia, where it employs more than 1000 people.
He has also been a driving force in developing cricket in Estonia.
Mr Heath, now living mostly in Estonia for the last two decades, is believed to have built a gaming empire based on online gambling and sports betting sites, casino's and other ventures, worth more than $2 billion and now rates a mention on the AFR Rich List.
ABC News reported that Prosecutor Jõgi said it is alleged the crime was financially motivated, but that kidnappings in Estonia were "extremely rare".
The Age reported the high-flying 'mogul' businessman and 'crypto magnate' educated in Warracknabeal and later at Melbourne University who spends most of his time overseas, was the subject of the daring, but botched kidnapping by 'foreign nationals'.
Family members have not been prepared to comment.