4 suspects forced a Bitcoiner to transfer BTC before killing him, police say

Police have arrested four suspects for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 29-year-old foreign national Bitcoiner in Kyiv, Ukraine, after stealing $170,000 worth of Bitcoin.

The four suspects — all male and aged between 24 and 29 — reportedly premeditated the attack, launching their assault around midnight on July 29, Kyiv Police said on July 29.

Residents contacted police after hearing screams and several people beating and forcing a man into a car.

Police said the victim was taken to an abandoned building where he was forced to transfer approximately 7 million Ukrainian hryvnias worth of Bitcoin (BTC) (around 2.55 BTC), before strangling the man to death and burying his body in a forest.

Kyiv Police also allege the four men changed the appearance and number plates of the car used to try to conceal the crime. The suspects then converted the Bitcoin into stacks of United States dollar and euro bills before being found and detained by Kyiv Police.

Kyiv prosecutors are looking to press charges for murder, robbery, illegal deprivation of liberty committed by an organized group of persons and concealment of crime. All four detainees face a potential life imprisonment sentence.

The crypto space has been haunted by both unexplained and explainable deaths over the years.

In 2022, a crypto millionaire’s body was found dismembered in a suitcase in Argentina, while another person was beaten to death with a dumbbell in Bulgaria and had their body parts flushed down a drain.

Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp noted many of these criminals typically identify future victims through social media posts, public conversations, meetups and conferences.

Lopp strongly advises against peer-to-peer trades — particularly with people you don’t trust — flaunting wealth on social media and wearing crypto-branded clothing.

“The general premise is that if criminals are less aware of you, they are less likely to target you.”