Armed French police have arrested 20-year-old Makaveli Lindén on suspicion of murdering a Norwegian Bitcoin investor.
A raid on a property near Dijon brought an end to a week-long manhunt following the murder of Heikki Bjørklund Paltto, who was stabbed more than 20 times following a reported Bitcoin transaction.
The victim was found by his roommate, lying unconscious with stab wounds in the apartment they shared in Oslo.
Paltto’s family told the Norwegian press that he had yielded considerable profits from cryptocurrency over the past few years, and that he was cashing out into fiat currency in order to purchase an apartment.
Norwegian prosecutor Christian Hatlo confirmed that the suspect – a Swedish national – had been arrested in France on Tuesday after working closely with Swedish, Belgian and French police.
https://twitter.com/NewsUpdate24Nor/status/1055399104518402048
He added: “We will send a team from Oslo down to France to participate in interrogation.”
The 20-year-old suspect has a vast criminal record, being arrested for robbery, violent threats and drug offences in the past.
He has been officially arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery, with detectives indicating that the theft of the Bitcoin wallet, or cash gained from selling, was the motive behind the killing.
The case has sent shockwaves around the over-the-counter (OTC) and cryptocurrency world, with many traders now worrying about their potential safety while conducting peer-to-peer Bitcoin transactions in person.
Norwegian police have stated that the most important thing is now “speaking to the suspect” and that “more details will be released” when further evidence is uncovered.
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