A police vehicle in Paris, April 16, 2025 (AFP / Sébastien Dupuy)
Three and a half months after the kidnapping against ransom of the co -founder of Ledger, the father of a man who made a fortune in the cryptocurrencies was released on Saturday evening during an assault two days after his abduction in the heart of Paris, and seven people were placed in police custody.
The man had been removed Thursday around 10:30 am in the 14th arrondissement, said the Paris prosecutor’s office. According to a police source, the action had been carried out before witnesses by four hooded men who had taken him aboard a delivery van.
“The victim turned out to be the father of a man who made a fortune in the cryptocurrencies, the facts being accompanied by a ransom application,” said the prosecution, without specifying the amount.
According to the newspaper Le Parisien, “the criminals would have claimed between 5 to 7 million euros in the form of transfers in exchange for his release”.
A source close to the file told AFP that a “very high” sum had been claimed by the captors but had not been paid.
The “numerous investigations” carried out allowed the release on Saturday around 9:00 pm of “the victim chosen in a housing located in Essonne,” said the prosecution.
Injured, the man was taken care of by the emergency services, according to the same source, without specifying the nature of his injuries.
According to the source close to the file, the man had a cut finger.
During this intervention, four suspects born in 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2005, “were arrested, in or near the accommodation where the victim was sequestrated,” said the prosecution.
A fifth, born in 1999, “was arrested behind the wheel of one of the vehicles probably used by criminals,” he completed.
Two other suspects born in 1995 and 2007 “were arrested on Sunday,” completed the public prosecutor.
“The seven police custody measures are currently underway” and “can last up to 96 hours,” it was said.
The hostage was released during an assault on the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) in the pavilion where it was kidnapped, reported the near source.
The place where it was selected was located thanks to an “extraordinary investigation”, “anthology”, stressed this source, adding that “other mutilations were to be feared” if the police had not intervened.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, during a press conference in Metz, in Moselle, on May 2, 2025 (AFP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen)
“A huge congratulations to the investigators who have done exceptional work to release this man and to arrest his captors,” reacted on X Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, welcoming the “decisive commitment” of the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez and his workforce.
The victim’s wife had told the police that her husband and his son, who have a marketing company managing Cryptomone in Malta, had been the subject of threats in the past, according to the police source.
– similar operating mode –
An investigation was opened for arrest, kidnapping, forcibleness and arbitrary detention with torture or act of barbarism and to obtain the execution of an order or a condition, extortion with weapon, all in organized gang, and participation in an association of criminal criminals.
The Brigade for the repression of banditry (BRB) and the judicial police are responsible for investigations.
According to the near source, the cybercrime (BL2C) and the BRI was also mobilized in this survey.
This abduction followed by sequestration with ransom request comes three and a half months after the abduction of the co -founder of Ledger, a company specializing in cryptoactives.
On January 21, in the early morning, David Balland and his partner had been kidnapped at their home in Méreau (Cher).
The alert had been given by Eric Larchevêque, co -founder of Ledger, who had received a video of a cut finger from David Balland, accompanied by a major ransom request in cryptocurrency.
Releasing in Châteauroux, David Balland was released on January 22. His partner was found tied up in the trunk of a vehicle in Essonne the next day.
At least nine suspects have been indicted in this case, including the alleged sponsor of this abduction.
In addition, in early January, a 56 -year -old man was found in the trunk of a car near Le Mans, several hundred kilometers from his home located in the Ain.
According to several media, it was the father of an influencer in cryptocurrencies based in Dubai, who regularly publishes videos on his earnings, and a ransom had been claimed.
