Kidnapping, Chopped-Off Finger, Raid: French Police Rescue Crypto Entrepreneur’s Father

In a nighttime raid, French police rescued a man held hostage for ransom, following a crypto-related abduction similar to several recent cases.

The police freed the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur on Sunday after the kidnappers held him hostage in an Airbnb for two days, according to Le Parisien, CNN, The Independent, and The Economic Times.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the police did “an exceptional job” freeing the man and capturing the kidnappers.

Un immense bravo aux enquêteurs qui ont fait un travail exceptionnel pour libérer cet homme et pour interpeller ses ravisseurs. Merci à @NunezLaurent et à la @prefpolice pour leur engagement décisif. https://t.co/e7PUr2OxzV

Four men in ski masks forced the victim into a van 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 read.

The police didn’t identify the victim or the entrepreneur. Per Le Parisien, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of between €5 million and €7 million ($5.67 million and $7.9 million). There was no payment made.

Furthermore, the kidnappers allegedly severed one of the victim’s fingers. They sent a video of the injured man to his son, asking for money. “There were fears of other mutilations” if police had not raided the house, The Economic Times said, citing a source.

The police have arrested five people between the ages of 23 and 27 in relation to this crime. Four of these were inside or near the Airbnb. The fifth was driving the van, which the police believe the attackers used for the crime.

They’ve also opened an investigation and are exploring a number of criminal charges, including extortion by an organized gang, criminal conspiracy, and kidnapping “with torture or a barbaric act,” per The Independent.

The victim’s wife told investigators that her husband and son owned a crypto marketing firm in Malta. They’ve both allegedly received threats in the past.

This highlights the growing threat wealthy crypto owners are facing, as related kidnappings have been on the rise.

However, it is currently unclear whether the recent series of crypto kidnappings is linked. Yet, “obviously there’s at least a link in the modus operandi. Now, whether it’s the same team or not is for the investigators to say,” internal security expert Guillaume Farde said on French television Sunday, as reported by CNN.

It is undeniable that the latest kidnapping is quite similar to other cases in France and elsewhere. In particular, a group of people abducted David Balland, co-founder of crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, along with his wife, from their home in central France on the morning of 21 January, 2025.

The attackers cut off Balland’s finger and sent a video to the co-founder Eric Larchevêque, demanding ransom money.

Meanwhile, in November 2024, kidnappers took Dean Skurka, CEO of Toronto-based WonderFi Technologies, in downtown Toronto, Canada, during rush hour and was freed after paying a $1 million ransom.

In December 2024, a similar situation happened to the wife of crypto investor and influencer Stéphane Winkel. She disappeared from their home in Belgium. Luckily, she escaped after the kidnapper crashed his car during a police chase.

In January this year, seven UK gang members received a lengthy prison sentence for kidnapping, torturing, and extorting a cryptocurrency investor.

In February, US authorities charged six men in connection with the October 2024 kidnapping of four people from Chicago, forcing them to transfer approximately $15 million in crypto.

These are just some of the many reported crypto kidnappings over the past few months alone. Be safe.

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