Four men are in custody for a brutal Bitcoin robbery turned murder in Kyiv, Ukraine, the heart of a war torn country in the Eastern Europe. The victim? A 29-year-old foreign crypto enthusiast.
The suspects, aged 24 to 29, allegedly planned the attack meticulously. They struck at midnight on July 29. And committed a violent crime worth depicting in Hollywood dark movies.
Locals called the cops after hearing screams. They saw several men beating someone and shoving him into a car.
The victim was taken to an abandoned building. There, he was forced to transfer about 7 million Ukrainian hryvnias in Bitcoin. That's roughly 2.55 BTC or $170,000.
After getting the crypto, the attackers strangled the man. They buried his body in a forest.
The police say the suspects tried to cover their tracks. They changed the car's appearance and plates.
The gang converted the stolen Bitcoin to cash. They were nabbed with stacks of dollars and euros.
Kyiv prosecutors are going for the jugular. They're looking at charges including murder, robbery, and kidnapping by an organized group. The suspects could face life in prison. There is no death penalty in Ukraine, just in case you wondered, as they could be the type of criminals deserving it.
This isn't the first time crypto has been linked to grisly crimes. In 2022, a crypto millionaire was found chopped up in a suitcase in Argentina. Another poor soul was beaten to death with a dumbbell in Bulgaria.
Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp warns that criminals often scout victims through social media and crypto events. He advises against flaunting wealth online or wearing crypto-branded gear. "Keep a low profile," he says. "It's that simple."