This possibility makes quite a bit of sense to me. It explains why the attackers went to so much trouble, given that world leader and major CEO DMs could be quite valuable, while also explaining why they bothered with the seemingly trivial crypto scam.
They also don't even need incriminating DMs, they can release fake DMs and use the BTC address to prove "authenticity" to the media. Released at the right time that could be quiet valuable to certain people.
