❓WHAT HAPPENED: A Ukrainian student was burned alive in his father’s Mercedes in Vienna, Austria, with police suspecting extortion over cryptocurrency.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Danilo Kuzmin, a 21-year-old student, and two Ukrainian suspects, aged 19 and 45, who were arrested in connection with the murder.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred last Wednesday in Vienna, under a bridge where the burned car was found.
🎯IMPACT: The case highlights concerns over cryptocurrency-related crimes and cross-border cooperation in criminal justice.
Austrian authorities are investigating the killing of 21-year-old Ukrainian student Danilo Kuzmin, who was found burned in the back seat of his father’s Mercedes beneath a bridge in Vienna. Police believe he was attacked and forced to transfer a significant sum in cryptocurrency shortly before his death.
Kuzmin, the son of Sergei Kuzmin, the deputy mayor of Kharkov (Kharkiv), had lived in Vienna for several years after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His body was so badly burned that investigators initially could not identify him; confirmation came only after friends and relatives filed missing-persons reports.
A post-mortem examination showed that he suffered blunt-force injuries, including trauma to the head and broken teeth. Forensic officers concluded he likely died from suffocation or heat shock caused by the fire. A melted petrol canister was found inside the vehicle, which runs on diesel, leading investigators to conclude the blaze was set intentionally.
Detectives believe Kuzmin was lured to an underground garage at a luxury hotel, where he was beaten and forced into the car. A large cryptocurrency transfer was detected leaving his digital wallet around the time of the attack, and security footage captured a 19-year-old suspect buying a petrol canister shortly before the murder. A second suspect, aged 45, was later identified. Both men fled to Ukraine immediately after the killing but were arrested by local police the following evening.
Austrian officials have agreed to allow Ukraine to prosecute the suspects domestically, while Viennese investigators continue to collect evidence to support the case.
The suspected extortion fits into a wider pattern of criminals targeting victims through digital assets. In recent years, cryptocurrency-related crime has surged, with U.S. authorities reporting billions in losses tied to fraud, extortion, and investment schemes. Americans lost more than $5.6 billion to crypto-related scams in 2023 as criminals increasingly exploited the speed and irreversibility of blockchain transactions. Law enforcement agencies have warned that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, combined with its global reach, makes recovering stolen funds extremely difficult once a transfer is executed.
The broader cryptocurrency market has also faced sharp volatility. Global digital asset valuations recently plunged by more than a trillion dollars within a matter of weeks amid concerns about speculative excess and fears that an artificial intelligence-driven bubble could trigger deeper instability.
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