A 23‑year‑old man was kidnapped in Maisons‑Alfort, a suburb of Paris, earlier this week when attackers forced him to hand over both cash and his Ledger wallet.
The incident, now being treated by police as a case of kidnapping and unlawful confinement by an organised gang, highlights a recent rise in violent crimes targeting cryptocurrency holders.
The Abduction
On Tuesday morning, the young couple set out in their car to run errands. When the driver could not find parking, his partner stepped out while he circled the area.
Minutes later, she received a message from him saying there was an urgent work issue. Unaware of the danger, she returned home.
Her phone then rang with a video call. Instead of her partner, a masked man appeared on screen. He demanded she collect €5,000 in cash and her Ledger hardware wallet and place them into a bag. A third person arrived to take the bag from her. Meanwhile, the victim’s captors used violence to force him to reveal details about his digital assets.
Ransom Demands
Sources close to the investigation told Le Parisien that the attackers knew about the man’s crypto holdings and aimed to seize both fiat and digital funds.
This method of demanding wallets or seed phrases has surfaced in several recent cases, with some victims even subjected to torture to extract their credentials.
Release and Investigation
On Tuesday, the victim was released in the nearby town of Créteil and called his partner on the road back home. No arrests have been made yet in this case.
Police from Val‑de‑Marne are leading the probe, and the victim’s partner has been handed over to the judicial police for questioning. An official described the matter as sensitive, noting that France’s Anti‑Banditism Brigade has made several arrests in related crypto‑linked kidnappings.
Wave of Crypto‑Linked Crimes
This case marks the tenth known kidnapping of a crypto holder in recent months in France. In May, three men tried to abduct the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, co‑founder of crypto exchange Paymium.
David Balland, co‑founder of French wallet startup Ledger SAS, was also seized from his home and freed after a police operation. His captors had demanded a large ransom in cryptocurrency.
In another incident, a 26‑year‑old TikTok crypto trader was taken in Juvisy‑sur‑Orge and released the following day when his kidnappers discovered he did not have the €50,000 they sought.
Calls for Action
Local crypto users and law enforcement are urging stronger safeguards and more rigorous guidelines for digital asset security. Experts say hardware wallets must be protected as fiercely as cash, and that crypto firms should support customer education on personal safety.
Victims and their families hope these measures will curb the growing trend of crimes aimed at stealing digital currencies.
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