Police arrest two Ukrainian men after Vienna killing linked to crypto wallet theft
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing of a 21-year-old Ukrainian man who police say was robbed, assaulted, and left in a burned out car in Vienna after being forced to surrender his crypto wallet passwords.Vienna police said the man’s charred body was found shortly after midnight on Nov. 26, according to Austrian media outlet OE24.Law enforcement discovered the victim’s remains inside a burned Mercedes with Ukrainian license plates in the city’s Donaustadt district, after fire alarms in a nearby housing complex were triggered. The specific cryptocurrencies stolen and the total amount of the theft are unknown.Lured to hotel garage, forced to surrender crypto passwordsPolice traced the fatal attack back to an earlier confrontation in the underground parking garage of Vienna’s SO/Vienna hotel.Security footage and witness accounts show the victim being confronted there by two Ukrainian men, aged 19 and 45, following a loud dispute. A hotel guest notified the front desk, which contacted police, but the individuals had already left the scene.Police said the victim was subsequently taken in his own Mercedes to the Donaustadt district, where he was beaten and forced to surrender passwords to two cryptocurrency wallets. Those wallets were later found to have been drained, and investigators recovered a large amount of U.S. dollars from one of the suspects during the arrest.Austrian media reported the victim’s teeth were knocked out during the assault and that he suffocated on blood from head injuries before the fire engulfed the vehicle. Authorities later recovered a melted gasoline canister from the back seat of the Mercedes.No formal statement on motive, suspects arrestedWhile the sequence of events — including the forced handover of wallet passwords and the subsequent emptying of the victim’s digital wallets — suggests a likely financial motive, police have not issued any formal statement regarding what they believe drove the suspects’ actions.The victim has been identified publicly only as a 21-year-old Ukrainian citizen. However, OE24, citing Ukrainian media reports, claims he was the son of a deputy mayor in Kharkiv, though authorities have not confirmed his identity beyond age and nationality.Authorities identified the suspects using surveillance tapes from the hotel garage and a gas station, as well as border-crossing records showing the two men left Austria for Ukraine hours after the killing.The 19-year-old and 45-year-old suspects were later arrested in Ukraine, according to Austrian police. At the request of Ukrainian authorities, the case will be transferred to Ukraine for prosecution.Local media also reported that the victim’s father traveled to Vienna to assist with identification procedures, but police statements have not independently confirmed this detail.The investigation remains ongoing.Web3 dangers spill into the real worldThe Vienna murder follows a grim arc of real-world danger tied to crypto wealth, as Europe and beyond have seen a spate of violent crypto-linked robberies and abductions in 2025.In France, authorities charged 25 suspects — including teenagers and minors — in a network of “wrench-attack” style abduction plots targeting holders of substantial crypto wealth. The group allegedly coordinated kidnappings with the apparent aim of forcing victims to turn over wallet keys or transfer assets. Earlier this year, a Belgian court sentenced three men to 12 years each for their role in a crypto-kidnapping case that culminated in ransom demands tied to a large digital asset portfolio.The trend has not been limited to Europe. In the United States, two 16-year-olds from Florida were charged with 22 felony counts linked to a $4 million crypto kidnapping and theft.In another disturbing case, an American tourist claimed she was drugged during a fake Uber ride in London — allegedly using the drug known as “Devil’s Breath” — and later woke up to find $123,000 worth of Bitcoin and XRP missing from her wallet. These incidents, across multiple countries and continents, highlight a growing pattern: as crypto holdings become more valuable and visible, holders are increasingly targeted not only online but through physical coercion, robbery, and violence.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.