Cyber criminal orchestrated £2m crypto theft bid from jail cell - BBC

Robert Barr, 29, ordered Sean Favier, 26, and Iain Doyle, 37, to steal digital assets from two homes in Midlothian while he was serving a 21-month sentence at HMP Edinburgh for fraud and having illicit mobile phones in prison. The trio had earlier pled guilty to being involved in serious organised crime at a hearing in Edinburgh.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Cubie sentenced Barr to eight years, Favier to four years, and Doyle to five years. The judge described the crime as marrying computer sophistication with old fashioned housebreaking. Prosecutors called Barr's criminal enterprise "rarely seen within mainstream investigations."

First theft attempt

The first raid took place in January 2024 and targeted a man who was a co-founder of a cryptocurrency start-up. Though the victim didn't advertise his cryptocurrency holdings, his social media activity revealed his involvement in digital assets. One item stolen was a cryptocurrency wallet, but the raiders couldn't access the funds without the PIN.

Second attempt foiled

Barr directed the operation from prison, instructing associates through messages. "I'm going to send u a website for the boys to make him go on," he texted. "If they need phone me on Telegram. I can speak to them in house keep them right. When they're in his house gonna need get him on his PC fast."

On April 17, 2024, when the victim and his wife were home, they heard knocking at the door. The man saw two figures in dark clothing with hoods pulled up and warned his wife not to open it. One of the men looked into the doorbell camera and asked: "Is that a camera right in front of me?" before they fled.

Prosecutor David Dickson KC revealed that Barr's phone, seized on June 25, 2024, contained "details of Barr's involvement in the organisation and provision of specialist support to criminal associates to conduct crypto-theft."

Court proceedings

Barr's lawyer Michael Anderson KC acknowledged his client's unusual skills, saying: "It might be a source of frustration to a number of people that someone who has skills that are pretty unusual could not put them to better use and legally."

Lord Cubie noted that Favier and Doyle did not know each other before the crime, with Doyle allegedly not fully understanding what he was being asked to do. The judge emphasized that the attempted crime was "apparently devised and directed from a prison cell, only frustrated when the victims had sense not to open the front door at 11:30pm to unknown men dressed in dark clothing with their faces obscured."