Yolo founder Tim Heath’s Estonia kidnap escape dubbed ‘Scotch Finger’ getaway by Scotch College alumni

The dramatic escape from an attempted kidnapping in Estonia by Aussie billionaire Tim Heath — who got free by biting an attacker’s finger — has more than impressed the old boys at Scotch College.

Tim Heath has built an international crypto-gambling empire. Picture: Supplied

His private school friends used to joke about when they missed curfew that it was because ‘Beef’ had to go to McDonalds for a late-night burger.

Because everyone loved Tim Heath — parents of his Scotch College schoolmates included — the excuse of ‘Blame it on Beef’ would give them some leeway.

Fast forward to this year and ‘Beef’ — who is now one of Australia’s richest men thanks to an international crypto-gambling empire — found himself not nibbling on a Big Mac but in fact on a kidnapper’s finger.

In a scary incident right out of a Hollywood movie plot, the 46-year-old was at his apartment in Tallinn, Estonia, when he came across a group of men posing as painter-decorators wearing hi-vis vests.

They tried to grab the Australian crypto king and put him in a van but Beef had other ideas, fighting off the kidnapping attempt but biting down hard on the finger of one of the assailants.

The move worked with the gang fleeing as Heath, with his upstairs in the apartment, later able to call out for help.

Tim Heath has built an international crypto-gambling empire.

Heath’s nickname was ‘Beef’ when he attended Scotch College. Picture: Supplied

Local authorities later uncovered the extent of the kidnapping plot which involved taking the billionaire to a remote location at a sauna about 65 kilometres away from Tallinn where they allegedly intended to hold him for ransom.

It came just days before the crowning moment of Heath’s career which was the launch of the $100 million Bombay Club casino, a new luxury venture promising to bring Vegas-style opulence to Europe.

The stunning casino complex in Tallinn, Estonia’s tech capital and birthplace of Skype, included state-of-the-art gaming rooms, cigar lounges, and high-end restaurants.

Fighting off kidnappers and mingling with the mega-rich, we’re talking serious Saudi Arabia oil money, is a long way from the small country Victorian town of Warracknabeal where he was raised.

Scotch College alumni have dubbed his kidnap escape the ‘Scotch Finger’ getaway. Picture: Matt Loxton

He then moved to Melbourne to attend Scotch College before studying at the University of Melbourne but jokes he got his MBA “at the Crown Casino poker room”.

With a love of poker and a nose for the gambling dollar, Heath let Australia and found himself in Russia, competing in a national poker championships — he finished fifth — before deciding to set up his life in northeastern Europe.

He started an online poker website that went close to collapsing in 2013 when a third-party platform failed to reconcile player winnings.

His parents helped him settle player balances.

The evolution of bitcoin was the game-changer for Heath.

He was one of the first to see its benefits with gambling and realised he could build a poker business into a bitcoin platform with slot machine games.

He then founded Yolo Group, a conglomerate managing major crypto gaming brands, betting on the future of online gambling with blockchain and Bitcoin as central elements.

Heath was 62nd on The Australian’s 250 Rich List. Picture: Supplied

It was a risky venture but paid off handsomely, drawing in drawing in high-rollers from around the world who wanted to wager in Bitcoin.

Now ‘Beef’s’ net worth is in the billions — he was ranked 62nd on The Australian’s 250 Rich List — and it has allowed him to enjoy a luxurious life replete with high-end homes, exotic vacations and a glamorous new model wife.

“You gotta be able to hustle, sell yourself, network, get out there and find a way to sell yourself,” Heath described in a social media post giving the secret sauce to his success.

“You can’t expect it to be lined up on a plate for yourself. It takes thinking out of the box. Prove you are the best you can be, building business from a shoestring. If you’ve got other investors in gaming industry talk to them, I will go chasing after an idea. You need to understand what needs to be solved get people talking about it. There is no magic wand on how to do this.”

Understandably the kidnapping attempt has resulted in Heath beefing up his security which has become a dark side for those with vast fortunes.

The glitz and glamour lifestyle can make you a target for criminal enterprises.

While some might say Beef has bitten off more than he can chew, his private school alumni are describing his heroic antics to fight off his would be kidnappers as great the “Scotch Finger” escape.