France is facing an unprecedented wave of violent attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders.
Armed gangs, frequently involving younger offenders, are carrying out kidnappings, beatings, and ransom demands to force victims or their families to surrender digital assets.
French prosecutors this week charged five individuals over a New Year’s Eve abduction in which the father of a crypto trader was tied up, beaten, doused in petrol, and stuffed into the trunk of a car after a ransom demand went unmet.
According to a statement from the local prosecutor’s office, the attack took place on December 31 in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, near the Swiss border.
A group of masked and armed intruders allegedly entered the victim’s home, restrained him and his partner, and contacted their son, a crypto entrepreneur, to demand payment.
When the family failed to comply, the father was abducted and driven across the country before being discovered hours later by police in Le Mans.
All five suspects, consisting of four adults and one minor, were arrested earlier this week. They now face a raft of charges including gang-related kidnapping, extortion, aggravated assault, and armed robbery.
Most of the adult suspects had previous convictions for violence, drug offences, and theft. The 17-year-old, previously convicted of aggravated theft, was placed under provisional judicial supervision due to his age.
And while authorities have not publicly linked the incident to other cases, it bears striking similarities to many other recent attacks in the country.
String of crypto robberies
Just last week, a 23-year-old man was abducted in Maisons-Alfort after dropping his partner off to go shopping.
A short while later, the woman received a video call, but instead of her boyfriend, a stranger appeared on screen demanding she hand over 5,000 euros in cash and the private keys to a Ledger hardware wallet allegedly containing crypto.
The man was released later that day in nearby Créteil.
In May, armed assailants attempted to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium, in broad daylight on a street in Paris. The attackers fled after the woman resisted and passers-by intervened.
And in one of the most high-profile incidents, French police in January rescued David Balland, co-founder of crypto hardware firm Ledger, and his wife after a multi-day hostage situation.
Balland was discovered with a severed finger, reportedly amputated by the kidnappers after they failed to receive the full Bitcoin ransom.
Authorities later rescued his wife and arrested 10 suspects, describing the group as part of an organised criminal network.
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at [email protected]
