Ukrainian Police Arrest Four Suspects in Bitcoin Murder Case

Four suspects were arrested by Ukrainian police on July 29, 2024, for allegedly kidnapping a Moroccan national and forcing the victim to transfer crypto assets worth UAH 7 million (around Rp 2.7 billion) before ultimately strangling the victim to death in Kyiv, Ukraine.

In a press release, police stated that the 29-year-old victim was kidnapped in front of his home in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv around midnight. Several witnesses heard screams and saw the victim being beaten and forced into a car.

“The perpetrators meticulously planned this crime. They knew the victim had Bitcoin worth several million hryvnias and decided to steal it,” the police revealed.

The victim was then taken to an abandoned building, where he was forced to transfer Bitcoin to the perpetrators' digital wallet. After the transfer, the victim was strangled to death, and his body was buried in a forest.
Ukrainian police investigated the crime scene. Image: Ukrainian Police

The four suspects, aged between 24 and 29, were identified by the police. Their actions were classified as kidnapping and murder with an economic motive. The suspects were denied bail and face the possibility of life imprisonment.

Crypto Asset Owners Vulnerable to Crime

Crypto assets often become targets of crime. Since September 2022, a group of robbers in the United States has been targeting crypto owners for attacks and extortion.

In July 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the sentencing of Remy Ra St. Felix, a 24-year-old man from Florida, who led a group in a series of violent crimes to force victims to hand over access to their crypto savings.

In one case, St. Felix and an accomplice robbed the home of an elderly couple in North Carolina, beating the victims and forcing them to transfer Bitcoin and Ether worth more than US$150,000 to the perpetrators' crypto wallet.

According to Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp, many of these criminals identify potential victims through social media posts, public conversations, meetings, and conferences.