David Balland, the partner of Eric Larchevêque in the start-up in charge of the safety of Ledger cryptocurrencies, was removed in Vierzon, with his partner.
An important device has been put in place to release the hostages and challenge criminals who demanded a ransom of 10 million euros.
On LCI, Marie-Laure Pezant, spokesperson for the national gendarmerie, returns to the details that led to the outcome of this scary abduction.
The co-founder of Ledger, a start-up specializing in cryptocurrencies, David Balland, and his partner were released, on January 23, forty-eight hours after the alert was given by Eric Larchevêque, his associated media known for his Participation in the program “Who wants to be my partner?” on M6 and who received a ransom request.
On the LCI set, Marie-Laure Pezant, spokesperson for the national gendarmerie, returned to the incredible device set up to locate and release the two hostages that are “Obviously very shocked”. “The difficulty is that we have an unstable hostage taking”explains the colonel. “The local gendarmerie units are the first engaged, and, very quickly experts, specialists with the national cyber unit of the gendarmerie and the GIGN are projected”she explains in length in the video at the top of this article.
The case, extraordinary and during which the 36 -year -old businessman lost a finger, cut by his captors, required to conduct investigations in the physical and digital world, in order to recover as much as possible Information. “We are going to do hearings, neighborhood, spinning. We will also recover all the digital data that we can find, for example those of video protection”, explains the soldier. In parallel, “Cybergendarmes will help to analyze the different data”she continues. This is what led to a first arrest by the GIGN in Indre where David Balland was kidnapped, then the next day in Étampes (Essonne), where his wife was retained, tied up in the trunk of a vehicle.
Part of the ransom, ten million euros, was paid to criminals, especially in cryptos, but it could be recovered: “Once the digital and Cyber investigators were able to follow the track of these cryptoactives and freeze them, then grasp them in the virtual world, we could go up and they should return to their owner fairly quickly”, assures the soldier.
-People who each have their mission
For the time being, investigations are continuing. The ten people arrested have “Not necessarily a link between them”, Indicates the spokesperson. “We are faced with people who each have their mission. It is a real business. It is a system organized with sponsors”, she adds. “The investigation must continue to allow us to go back to the sponsors and to better understand what happened.”
This Friday evening, seven members of this operation are presented to investigating judges responsible for crime organized in Paris with a view to their possible indictment for having participated in the kidnapping and sequestration of the Ledger co -founder, this special company in cryptoactives, and his partner.
The prosecution requested their placement in pre -trial detention. Judicial information for arrest, kidnapping, forcibleness or arbitrary detention with torture or act of barbarism and to obtain the execution of an order or a condition in organized gang, crimes making criminal imprisonment in perpetuity and one million D 'Euros fine, was opened.
