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In brief: There has been a spate of kidnappings taking place across France and Western Europe in which victims are cryptocurrency investors. The most recent incident involved the owner of a crypto marketing firm having his finger cut off by attackers. Police say the man could have been mutilated further had he not been rescued.
The unidentified 60-year-old man was abducted in broad daylight at 10.30am on Thursday morning while walking down Paris’ 14th arrondissement, writes The Guardian. Four men forced him into a delivery van.
The man owned a cryptocurrency marketing company with his millionaire son, whom kidnappers demanded pay a ransom of between $5.3 million and $8 million in crypto. The victim was held at a house for two days, during which time his finger was cut off to send to his son.
The man was freed by armed police in a raid at 9pm on Saturday night from a house 12 miles south of Paris. Five suspects in their 20s were arrested. The ransom had not been paid.
This incident is almost identical to another kidnapping that occurred in January. David Balland, who co-founded crypto firm Ledger, which is valued at more than $1 billion, was abducted along with his partner in central France. The pair were separated, with Balland taken to a house in Châteauroux where one of his fingers was cut off.
Balland’s business partner had received a demand for around $11.3 million in crypto. Balland was freed during a police raid and his partner was found in the trunk of a car.
There was also the case of the father of French cryptocurrency influencer who was the target of a kidnapping in eastern France last year. Kidnappers tied up his wife and daughter and forced the man into a car. His son received a ransom demand and contacted police. The women were freed and the father was discovered 24 hours later in the trunk of a car. He had been assaulted and doused with petrol.
There have been similar kidnappings involving those in the crypto business in Spain and Belgium during the last five months.
It’s unclear if the crimes are linked. It could be that criminals consider these targets easier prey than other rich victims. The fact those receiving the ransom demands have direct access to lots of hard-to-trace cryptocurrency is likely a factor, too. So, if you’re a crypto millionaire in Europe, don’t go flashing your digital wallet about.
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