Recent reports reveal that the chief suspect in Ubisoft Montreal’s 2020 fake hostage situation is an avid Rainbow Six Siege player who was banned over 80 times for cheating in the online multiplayer.
In November 2020, Ubisoft Montreal’s Mile-End headquarters was the subject of a hostage hoax in which the perpetrators claimed that the entire building would be blown up if a $2 million ransom wasn’t rewarded.
After hours of police and special unit forces investigating, evacuations of the building’s daycare, and employees barricading themselves on the roof, it was revealed to be a baseless threat all along with no real imminent danger.
Now, Montreal’s La Presse has uncovered court documents that point out the top suspect at the moment — and it’s a French Rainbow Six player who had been banned from the game over 80 times by Ubisoft’s ethics committee. Additionally, the digital newspaper has reached the cheater and suspect for comment.
According to La Presse’s reports, Yanni Ouahioune, who goes by ‘Yannox’ and ‘Y4nnoXX’ online, has a history of problematic behavior with Ubisoft.
The R6 player’s list of offenses includes creating a fake Ubisoft website to steal other players’ account information, getting other players swatted, and calling the game company’s Montreal headquarters to harass employees.
Contacted by La Presse over Snapchat, Ouahioune admits to earlier wrongdoings but denies any involvement in the 2020 hostage situation: “I didn’t do anything. I just cheated in their video game. The only time I called Ubisoft, it was to insult them for banning me.”
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As it stands, the investigation appears to still be ongoing. Reportedly, the hostage hoax cost Ubisoft $1.7 million (in Canadian dollars) for lost productivity, $15,000 in psychological services, and $40,000 in material damages.
After the initial November 2020 incident, the company’s Montreal headquarters was allegedly swatted a few more times — none as impactful as the original effort.
While Ouahioune is the top suspect at the moment, the Frenchman maintains that he is innocent regarding this situation: “I don’t have a PC anymore. I just have an old telephone and I stopped all my bad activities. I don’t want my mother to be disappointed in me anymore.”
All quotes are translated from French by the writer, some inconsistencies in translation may apply.
