Thursday January 23 in the afternoon, in the south of Essonne, a gendarmerie operation targeted two vehicles. Inside, three men and the companion of David Balland, French figure in the cryptocurrency sector and co-founder of the Ledger company. It is the epilogue of a forty-eight hour manhunt which made it possible to find the entrepreneur, released by the intervention group of the national gendarmerie (GIGN) twenty-four hours earlier, and his companion.
The couple was kidnapped in the early morning of Tuesday January 21 from their home, in the town of Méreau, near Vierzon (Cher), where Ledger's headquarters are located. Forced to get into two vehicles, the man and woman were separated. The identity of the kidnappers has not been revealed but ten people were taken into custody between Wednesday and Thursday: nine men and one woman, aged between 20 and 40 and most of them known to the police. The hostage takers demanded a “large ransom in cryptocurrencies”according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
Of the ten arrested, seven were to be referred on Friday January 24 for indictment, with the prosecution requesting their placement in pre-trial detention. Three other people, arrested Thursday afternoon “in the immediate vicinity of the place of release” of Mr. Balland's companion, have no “link established” with the investigation and were “released without prosecution”according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
The couple was not chosen at random: David Balland co-founded, in 2014, the company Ledger, one of the flagship companies in the cryptocurrency sector in France. Its secure physical wallets, deemed particularly robust, are very popular with investors – the company is valued at around 1.3 billion euros.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Ledger, the French specialist in digital safes which sees itself as the “Apple of cryptoassets”
Read later
Another co-founder and ex-CEO of the company, Eric Larchevêque, whom an online rumor had initially designated as the victim of the kidnapping, said on social networks on Thursday evening his “tremendous relief” after the release of the two victims, and expressed his thanks to the “law enforcement, with a particular mention for the GIGN”.
230 gendarmes mobilized
Opened on Tuesday by the Bourges public prosecutor's office, then subsequently transferred to Paris and its national jurisdiction for the fight against organized crime, the investigation initially promises to be particularly complex. To deliver their ransom demand, sent to another Ledger co-founder, the kidnappers used a WhatsApp account linked to a phone number in Southeast Asia, as well as a VPN (virtual private network), making their tracking very difficult. The investigators then decide to send a bitcoin (around 100,000 euros) in order to save time and try to trace the transaction.
According to information from Mondeit was the arrest of a suspicious vehicle by the Vierzon anti-crime brigade which allowed the investigation to gain momentum: on board the vehicle, which was stolen, a man admitted to being part of the group who kidnapped the Balland couple. The use of his phone makes it possible to trace the trace of another phone, geolocated in Châteauroux. When the GIGN intervenes at the address where the cell phone is located, they find Mr. Balland, alive but injured: furious at not receiving the ransom, his captors cut off his finger and sent the video of the mutilation to Ledger.
-Acts punishable by life imprisonment
His companion, however, is not there. The search is redoubled, while a very large device, including 230 gendarmes, including 91 GIGN agents and specialized technical teams, is already deployed. His trace was finally found, Thursday at midday, in Etampes (Essonne), thanks to a combination of cross-checks. She was in a vehicle, tied up, but in good health. Six suspects are arrested by the police.
A judicial investigation was opened on Friday, January 24, into charges of kidnapping and sequestration by an organized gang, accompanied by acts of torture or barbarity, and extortion with weapons, as well as for money laundering by an organized gang and criminal association. . Acts punishable by life imprisonment.
The World
Special offer for students and teachers
Access all our content unlimitedly from €6.99/month instead of €12.99.
Subscribe
On December 31, 2024, the father, mother and sister of a French influencer specializing in cryptocurrencies were kidnapped and held captive for several hours in Ain – again, a ransom was demanded. The mother and sister were released by the police after the influencer raised the alarm. His father was found twenty-four hours after his kidnapping, 600 kilometers from home. Here again, it was the check of a suspicious vehicle by the police which made it possible to find the man, tied up, doused in gasoline and locked in the trunk of the vehicle. No link has yet been established between the two cases.
Correction on January 24 at 11:04 a.m.: Correction of an error on the name of the investigation department supervising the investigations and on the current functions of Mr. Larchevêque.
