Deputy mayor of Kharkiv's son targeted in fatal crypto robbery in Austria

The son of a Ukrainian official has been brutally murdered in the Austrian capital by kidnappers who tried to extort his cryptocurrency.

The young man was abducted, tortured and burned to death by other Ukrainians who managed to drain his crypto wallets, local police announced after investigating the case.

Ukrainian student killed by crypto kidnappers in Austria

A 21-year-old Ukrainian studying in Vienna has become the victim of a gruesome murder committed by compatriots who wanted his crypto assets.

Danilo Kuzmin, believed to be the son of a politician from Eastern Ukraine, disappeared last week and was reported missing by his family.

Ukrainian media identified the father as Sergey Kuzmin, deputy mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city of 1.5 million residents.

His son’s charred body was found in a car in the underground parking of a luxury hotel in the Donaustadt district of the capital city.

Guests and residents called the police after seeing the burning vehicle, which had Ukrainian license plates, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Picture of the burning car. Source: Харьков News

Following an investigation supported by Ukrainian authorities and Europol, the initial mystery has been largely unraveled, informed the leading Austrian daily.

Two suspects, men aged 19 and 45 respectively, have been arrested. Both Ukrainian citizens, they were detained in their home country based on an issued international arrest warrant.

More information about the ugly crime was released at a press conference. Colonel Gerhard Winkler, head of the Vienna State Criminal Police Office, ruled out a political motive.

Law enforcement says the perpetrators did it for a lot of money. It established they had taken hold of a large sum of cryptocurrency but did not reveal the exact amount.

Also quoted by the German crypto news outlet BTC Echo, Austrian officials explained the kidnappers gained access to two crypto wallets of the victim which have been completely emptied.

A significant amount of cash, including U.S. currency, was found in one of the suspects upon arrest. Investigators believe the money came from the same criminal act.

Austrian police share details about the horrific murder

Officers working on the case provided a detailed account of Kuzmin’s last hours. The Ukrainian student was overpowered by the attackers in the Sofitel hotel and brutally beaten, as evidenced by footage from a surveillance camera.

The young man was then placed in the back seat of a Mercedes Benz and set on fire in an apparent attempt to cover the signs of the violence.

Forensic experts examining the body, which was discovered last Wednesday, found clear traces of blows and significant burns. Asphyxiation or heat shock were cited as the likely causes of death.

Investigators detected the suspects on another video obtained from a gas station in Vienna. They fled to Ukraine shortly after committing the crime.

The two men will be prosecuted in their country, and the Austrian judiciary will hand over the proceedings to the relevant authorities there, Colonel Winkler noted.

According to a report by the OE24 news website, the 19-year-old was a fellow student who lured the victim. The torched expensive car belonged to Danilo, who was tortured until he revealed the passwords for his wallets.

Another tragic crypto death in the region

The young Ukrainian’s horrific murder in Austria is the latest in a string of crypto-related deaths across Eastern Europe and the wider region.

In October, Russian crypto businessman and alleged scammer Roman Novak and his wife were kidnapped and killed in Dubai, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

The news of his fate came amid surging kidnappings of crypto investors in Russia. Three suspects, all Russian citizens, were arrested in St. Petersburg as part of his case.

Later that month, Ukrainian crypto investor Konstantin Galich, better known as the prominent influencer Kostya Kudo, was found dead, with a gunshot wound to the head, in a suspected suicide in his Lambo in Kyiv.

In November, Russian crypto entrepreneur and alleged millionaire Alexei Dolgikh killed himself in a fiery crash with his own Lamborghini Urus speeding in Moscow.

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