Police arrest two suspects for murdering student after cryptocurrency theft

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Police arrest two suspects for murdering student after cryptocurrency theft Original Link: https://portaldobitcoin.uol.com.br/policia-prende-dois-suspeitos-de-assassinar-estudante-apos-roubo-de-criptomoedas/ The Vienna police, Austria, have arrested two Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the crime of torture followed by the murder of a 21-year-old student, whose charred body was found inside his Mercedes after a violent attack that emptied his cryptocurrency wallet.

According to local reports, the victim is student Danylo K., son of the deputy mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, who, according to the police, was found in the back seat of his vehicle on the morning of November 26, after flames and smoke triggered fire alarms in a nearby residential complex.

According to the police, a 19-year-old and a 45-year-old suspect were detained in Ukraine on Saturday, three days after fleeing across the border.

Although the motive for the crime remains uncertain, withdrawals from the victim’s cryptocurrency wallet were detected, making greed a likely motivation, authorities said.

The suspects will not be extradited, as the case was transferred to Ukrainian authorities at their request, police reported.

The alleged attack began in the Sofitel hotel garage, where the younger suspect allegedly ambushed his fellow student and forced him into his own Mercedes, taking him to Donaustadt, where he was killed.

“The fire investigation determined that the blaze started inside the car with gasoline,” police said. “Investigators recovered a melted container from the back seat.”

Attacks on cryptocurrency investors

The murder in Vienna comes amid a rise in physical attacks against cryptocurrency holders, known as “wrench attacks.”

Security experts have documented nearly 70 attacks this year, with more than 30% occurring in Europe.

Last weekend in San Francisco, a man posing as a delivery driver tied up a resident and forced him to hand over $11 million in cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this month in Canada, court records detailed a home invasion that took place in 2024, in which a family was tortured while attackers stole $1.6 million in Bitcoin.

This pattern has turned deadly in some regions, such as last month, when cryptocurrency promoters and their wives were murdered in the United Arab Emirates after meeting with men posing as investors who demanded access to their digital wallets.

“Europe presents several converging factors: relatively dense urban environments, strong crypto adoption in certain corridors, and highly skilled organized crime groups, already experienced in armed robbery, extortion, and kidnappings historically linked to drugs and money,” according to expert analysis.

“Crypto extortion logically fits into their existing toolkit.”

As digital theft becomes more difficult due to multisig, hardware wallets, operational security, and stricter controls at exchanges, “criminals may increasingly resort to coercion instead of hacking.”

“This doesn’t mean wrench attacks will become common, but as cryptocurrencies remain highly liquid and borderless, physical targeting will continue to be an appealing alternative method.”