Kiev police arrested four men, aged between 24 and 29, on charges of kidnapping and murdering a 29-year-old foreign man.
The crime was aimed at stealing approximately 3 bitcoins (BTC), worth approximately seven million hryvnia (about 170 thousand dollars).
According to a report by the Ukrainian National Police, the incident occurred around midnight when residents of a building in the Solomyansky district heard screaming and saw several men beating and dragging another person into a car.
The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, was a well-known cryptocurrency owner.
Police launched a large-scale operation in Kiev and surrounding areas to locate and arrest the suspects.
With the cooperation of all police units, the authorities were able to identify and arrest the four perpetrators.
Investigations revealed that the suspects planned the kidnapping after learning that the victim possessed a large amount of Bitcoin.
They followed him to his home and attacked him when he returned around midnight.
The attackers forcibly transported the victim to an abandoned building in the Kiev area, where they forced him to transfer his bitcoins to their encrypted wallet.
After securing the transfer, the suspects strangled the victim.
To cover their tracks, the perpetrators changed the car's license plates and appearance, buried the body in the woods, and converted the stolen cryptocurrency into cash.
However, their escape attempt was thwarted thanks to a quick and coordinated response from law enforcement authorities in Kiev.
During the operation, the police confiscated the money, the car used in the crime, and other important evidence.
The suspects now face serious charges under the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including premeditated murder with selfish motives, robbery, illegal deprivation of liberty by an organized group, and concealment of a crime.
All detainees were informed of suspicion of committing these crimes, and the court ordered them to be placed in detention without the possibility of release on bail.
