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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 <a href="https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/vykraly-inozemtsia-syloiu-vybyly-kryptu-ta-zadushyly-politseiski-kyieva-rozkryly-zukhvale-vbyvstvo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a>&nbsp;on July 29.
Residents contacted police after hearing screams and several people beating and forcing a man into a car.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/cb84c4ab-356e-4940-be21-13138eaeeb19.png" alt="4 suspects forced a Bitcoiner to transfer BTC before killing him, police say">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Footage of the victim being assaulted and dragged into the vehicle. Source: Kyiv Police
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Police said the victim was taken to an abandoned building where he was forced to transfer approximately 7 million Ukrainian hryvnias worth of Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) (around 2.55 BTC), before strangling the man to death and burying his body in a forest.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/d9dee944-3f65-4792-96be-96bc891fd728.png" alt="4 suspects forced a Bitcoiner to transfer BTC before killing him, police say">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Footage of the Kyiv Police arriving at the crime scene. Source: Kyiv Police
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</figure>
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/whistleblower-outs-wolf-of-kyiv-for-70-million-bitcoin-scam" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Kyiv Police also allege</a> 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 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-national-debt-passes-35t-5-things-bitcoin-this-week" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">United States dollar</a> and euro bills before being found and detained by Kyiv Police.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/f25d2912-84a7-42ec-a282-b0ca5de5136e.png" alt="4 suspects forced a Bitcoiner to transfer BTC before killing him, police say">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Stacks of US dollar and euro bills were seized at the crime scene. Source: Kyiv Police
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</figure>
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 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-criminals-south-korea-life-imprisonment" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">life imprisonment sentence.</a>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/two-onecoin-promoters-found-dead-in-mexico" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Two OneCoin Promoters Found Dead in Mexico</a>
The crypto space has been haunted by both unexplained and explainable deaths over the years.
In 2022, a crypto millionaire’s body was found <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/missing-crypto-millionaire-found-dismembered-suitcase" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">dismembered in a suitcase</a> in Argentina, while another person was <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/big-questions-crypto-deaths/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">beaten to death with a dumbbell</a> in Bulgaria and had their body parts flushed down a drain.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/6c6f8231-9366-4a79-acd6-02df14b23cff.png" alt="4 suspects forced a Bitcoiner to transfer BTC before killing him, police say">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Crypto-related deaths around the world between November 2022 and September 2023. Source: Cointelegraph
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</figure>
Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp <a href="https://blog.casa.io/bitcoiners-guide-to-organized-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">noted</a> 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.
<blockquote>
 “The general premise is that if criminals are less aware of you, they are less likely to target you.”
</blockquote>
Magazine:<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/3-4-billion-bitcoin-popcorn-tin-silk-road-hacker/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> $3.4B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin — The Silk Road hacker’s story</a>

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

Cointelegraph

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