Kidnappers in France target cryptocurrency entrepreneurs for ransom
PARIS: French police rescued the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur in a nighttime raid after he was taken hostage for ransom, the latest alleged criminal attempt in France to extort individuals involved in digital asset management.
The man was kidnapped on Thursday morning in Paris, the prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.
“The victim turned out to be the father of a man who made his fortune in cryptocurrencies, and the incident was accompanied by a ransom demand,” the statement said, without providing names or further details about their identities.
Police investigators located the hostage in a house in the Essonne region, south of Paris, from where he was rescued on Saturday night, the prosecutor’s office said.
It stated that he was treated for injuries but did not disclose details. French media reported that the alleged hostage-takers had severed one of the man’s fingers.
Police detained five people—four in or near the house where the man was held captive, and a fifth driving a vehicle believed to have been used in the abduction, the prosecutor’s office said.
It added that the police investigation is considering several possible criminal charges, including kidnapping “with torture or a barbaric act.”
In January, police reported that David Balland, a co-founder of the French crypto-wallet firm Ledger, was kidnapped along with his wife from their home in the central French region of Cher.
Police said 10 arrests were made, and the alleged kidnappers had demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency from another of Ledger’s co-founders.
A raid by France’s elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group unit, which specialises in hostage situations, freed Balland the following day, with his wife being rescued the day after, also by the GIGN, after being found tied up in a vehicle, police said.
By RSS/AP
