Ukrainian politician’s son killed in Vienna over cryptocurrency

A 21-year-old Ukrainian student has been found dead in a burnt-out car in Vienna, Austria, and two Ukrainian nationals are now in custody under suspicion of involvement. 

The young man, whose father is the vice-mayor of Kharkiv, was brutally attacked in the underground car park of a luxury hotel before being placed on the back seat of a Mercedes and set alight, Caliber.Az reports per Austrian media.

Investigators say the attack appears to have been financially motivated rather than political.

The victim’s family reported him missing on the night of November 27. Shortly afterwards, authorities confirmed the horrific circumstances of his death. Austrian police, working with Ukrainian authorities and Europol, arrested a 19-year-old and a 45-year-old suspect in Ukraine under an international arrest warrant. The suspects will face trial in their home country rather than being extradited to Austria.

Colonel Gerhard Winkler, head of the Vienna State Criminal Police, said investigators believe the crime was driven by money. After the attack, a substantial amount of cryptocurrency was withdrawn from the victim’s wallet, and one of the suspects was found carrying a large sum of US dollars.

Surveillance footage shows the victim being overpowered and assaulted by several men in the hotel car park. Police said the body bore extensive bruising in addition to severe burn injuries, with around 80% of the body charred.

Fire investigators found traces of accelerants, and a melted petrol can was discovered on the back seat, which led authorities to CCTV footage from a nearby petrol station and ultimately to the suspects. Colonel Winkler suggested that the likely cause of death was suffocation or heat shock resulting from the fire.

The case has now been handed over to Ukrainian authorities for prosecution, with Austrian officials providing ongoing support.

By Aghakazim Guliyev