British soldiers have been accused of kidnap, robbery and tied up an Italian couple on Bali.
Greg Simpson, 36, an army reservist who toured Afghanistan as a member of the London Regiment, was said to have been part of a four-strong gang who stole 5.8 billion Indonesian Rupiahs in the raid, the equivalent of £300,000.
An ex-colleague claimed that he was sent to Bali by his unit after making racist comments during 2020 Operation Rescript. This is their response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Former colleague stated that the man had been obsessed by conspiracy theories and extremist right-wing political views. I was aware that he could get in trouble. However, being charged with pre-meditated murder is very surprising.
After the robbery, Simpson was arrested by Indonesian authorities along with Nicola Disanto (34) shortly afterwards. Authorities are still trying to find the remaining two gang members.
Greg Simpson, 36, an army reservist who toured Afghanistan as a member of the London Regiment, was said to have been part of a four-strong gang who stole 5.8 billion Indonesian Rupiahs in the raid, the equivalent of £300,000
They broke into the Villa Seminyak Estate & Spa Complex in Seminyak, allegedly to steal a vacation home being rented out by Principe Nerini (40) and Camilla Guadagnuolo (30).
The chief of local police said the men were completely dressed in black, covered up their faces with scarves, and used gloves to cover their identities when they attacked their home at 3 am on November 11.
The story goes that Mr Nerini, who was being held at knifepoint, had his hands and feet tied before being beat and placed in a room.
At a press conference, Commissioner Jansen Aitus Panjaitan of Denpasar Police Resort stated that six phones were taken by the attackers and Mr Nerini was forced to give his passwords for bitcoin accounts.
Ms Guadagnuolo, who was later threatened by the thieves and returned to her villa during the robbery.
The four criminals fled after the robbery had been completed.
The Indonesian authorities have arrested Simpson (centre-right) and Nicola Disanto (centre-left) within minutes of the robbery in November. They are still looking for the two other gang members.
After freeing themselves, the couple checked their bitcoin account balance to discover 5.8 billion IDR (£300,000) had been transferred in three transactions to an account owned by one of the alleged assailants, Disanto.
Jansen stated that the four suspects are foreign nationals. He also disclosed that Disanto was an ex-employee of an export firm that operated at the time.
Simpson and Disanto both were arrested within 24 hours of the incident.
According to police, two knives and a jacket were seized by officers during an arrest. They also seized a pair trousers and some cash.
Men could spend up to nine years prison if convicted on the criminal charges of robbery and confinement.
A local police chief said that the men were dressed in all black and covered their heads with scarves, while wearing gloves to conceal their identities. Simpson
Simpson was a former colleague in the Army. He claimed that he went to Bali after being disciplined for racist comments made by his unit while he was stationed in London, where the army had set up Covid testing locations.
The former colleague said that he had gotten deeper and deeper into conspiracies and extremist right-wing politics over the past 10 years.
“He was heard on a bus talking about his beliefs that some ethnic groups are less intelligent.
He was disciplined in writing and his rank and pay were reduced.
“He didn’t look like that all the time, but he changed dramatically around 2010. He spent too much of his time surfing the web.
“He was obsessed by bizarre conspiracy theories and David Icke, and became more anti-Semitic talking about Jewish freemasons.
An Army spokesperson stated that the Army was aware of an incident in Bali, which occurred 12 November 2021. It would not be appropriate to discuss further as the issue is still under investigation.
The disciplinary hearing was covered under the Data Protection Act, so they said that information regarding it could not be released.
An ex-colleague claims Simpson was in Afghanistan for a 2007 tour and in 2014, was part of the UN Cyprus deployment.
On his Facebook page, he shows himself with a belt that has a ‘Black Sun buckle’. This symbol is beloved by neo-Nazis. It was also part of the paraphernalia used to murder 51 worshippers at Christchurch mosque Brenton Tarrant in 2019.
Another photo shows him under an Afghan khaki pith helmet and on an armed patrol. A page called “British Nationalism” is one of his favorites.
His family is believed to be spread across the USA, South Africa and Britain.
“His mother passed away,” said the ex-colleague. His father still lives in the States. I do know that he has two siblings and at most one still lives in Britain.