29-year-old Bitcoin holder murdered in Ukraine, robbed of 3 Bitcoins after being beaten

According to a statement from the Ukrainian National Police Department of Communication, a 29-year-old foreign Bitcoin holder was robbed of 3 Bitcoins worth approximately $200,000 in the capital city of Kyiv by four criminal suspects and was subsequently murdered and left abandoned.

Bitcoin Holder Robbed and Murdered

The statement mentioned that the police arrested four suspects aged between 24 and 29 in the early hours of the 29th, accused of kidnapping and murdering a 29-year-old Bitcoin holder in Kyiv and stealing $200,000 worth of Bitcoin.

The Ukrainian police stated that the four suspects are currently charged with robbery, illegal deprivation of liberty, premeditated murder for personal reasons, and concealing criminal activities:

The Capital Police Department received a report around midnight that residents in the Solomyanskyi district heard screams and saw several unidentified individuals beating a man and attempting to force him into a car.

Upon investigation, it was found that the four suspects had premeditated the crime:

They discovered that the man owned around $200,000 worth of Bitcoin, located the victim's address, assaulted him as he returned home, forcibly dragged him into a car, took him to an abandoned building, coerced the victim to transfer the Bitcoin to their encrypted wallet, and then killed him.

Additionally, "to cover up the crime evidence, the car's license plates and appearance were changed, the body was buried in the forest, and the cryptocurrency was exchanged for cash."

Currently, the Ukrainian police have seized money, vehicles, and other evidence. It is reported that the suspects will face life imprisonment for these crimes.

Rise in Cryptocurrency Robbery and Murder Cases

The number of robbery and murder cases related to cryptocurrency fluctuates with the exchange rates of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this month, crypto enthusiasts were victims of violence, including robbery, during the 7th Ethereum Community Conference ETHCC 7 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

Multiple Robberies at Belgium ETHCC Targeting Crypto Summit Participants

Between October 2022 and December 2022, MakerDAO co-founder Nikolai Mushegian and Russian crypto broker Libertex founder Vyacheslav Taran were found drowned in Puerto Rico and died in a helicopter crash while flying privately.

During the following summer, two cryptocurrency tycoons from the United States and Argentina were found beaten to death with a dumbbell and murdered, dismembered, and left in a suitcase.

Founder of crypto media Decrypt Matt Hussey commented that as the cost of living continues to rise, cryptocurrency billionaires are easier targets for attacks:

You can steal and walk away with their laptops, but if you get their private keys, you essentially have their money.

He added, "Cryptocurrency is easy to transfer and easy to steal. Rather than robbing a bank, torturing someone and forcing them to hand over their private keys offers a better chance of escape."