French Police Probe Wave of Crypto-Related Kidnappings Amid Rising Threats

Police in France are looking into incidents of kidnappings linked to cryptocurrency. This development comes after an old man in his late fifties had his fingers chopped off by his abductors, who demanded ransom from his son, who was a crypto millionaire.

Paris Man Mutilated in Targeted Attack on Crypto Family

According to a report, the man whose identity was not revealed had been kidnapped on Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m., as he walked along a street in Paris. Four men in ski masks forcibly took him into a delivery van to a house in the south of Paris.

The police rescued the man after two days in captivity with his abductors. Notably, the French police stormed the house, which is about 20 KM south of Paris, at 9 p.m. on Saturday. The authorities arrested five suspects in the house, all in their twenties.

Local reports stated that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of €5 – 7 million from the son, who is a crypto millionaire. The money they demanded was wired to them, but it had reportedly not been paid before the arrest.

The man’s wife informed police investigators that her husband and son jointly owned a firm in Malta that was into crypto marketing. She explained that they had received threats before the current incident.

Previous Case Involved Ledger Co-Founder David Balland

This is not the first incident of crypto-related abduction in the country. Notably, on January 21, 2025, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, was also abducted along with his partner from their home in the early hours of the morning.

Although Balland was released the next day, the kidnappers also chopped off his finger, while his partner was found tied up inside the trunk of a car.

Balland’s abductors had demanded about €10 in ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency from his business partner. The criminals had sent a video of the chopped finger to Balland’s business partner along with their demand.

Are Criminals Shifting from Online Hacks to Physical Threats?

Outside of France, Dean Skurka, WonderFi Technologies CEO, was also abducted in Toronto and had to part with $720,000 to secure his release.

These developments suggest that criminal elements likely target crypto holders and demand payments due to its anonymity.

It also highlights a daring shift from online hacking attacks, which resulted in over $9 billion in losses, to an offline strategy.