The body of Kevin Mirshahi, a well-known crypto influencer who was abducted from a Montreal condo in June, has been found in a Montreal park, as reported by local media.
Mirshahi’s decomposing remains were discovered by a passerby at Île-de-la-Visitation park on Oct. 30, according to Montreal police, who spoke with The Gazette, a Montreal news outlet.
An autopsy later confirmed the identity of the body as Mirshahi, The Gazette reported on Nov. 13.
Mirshahi, 25, was last seen on June 21 when he, along with three others, was forcibly taken from a condo in Montreal.
While the three other abductees managed to escape, Mirshahi did not.
This incident highlights a troubling pattern of abductions and murders involving crypto executives and influencers, often motivated by attempts to extort or recover large sums of money.
In a similar case, Canadian crypto company WonderFi’s CEO, Dean Skurka, was reportedly kidnapped last week and forced to pay a $1 million ransom for his release.
The investigation into Mirshahi’s death is ongoing.
In August, police arrested a 32-year-old woman named Joanie Lepage, who has since been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mirshahi’s death.
Mirshahi was known within the Montreal crypto community, previously running a private crypto investment firm called Crypto Paradise Island.
Although it’s unclear if Lepage had invested in this firm, one X user, “Bibi,” alleged he had been scammed by Mirshahi, while others made similar accusations.
Québec’s investment regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, had previously banned Mirshahi from acting as a broker or investment adviser in 2021 and prohibited him from posting related content on social media.
The regulator extended this ban on July 4, about two weeks after his abduction.
This case joins other international incidents, including the kidnapping and murder of a Bitcoiner in Ukraine in July, and a separate August case where six Malaysians were charged with kidnapping a Chinese national and demanding a $1 million ransom in Tether.
