Seven people will be presented this Friday to investigating judges with a view to their possible indictment for the kidnapping and sequestration of the co-founder of a company specializing in cryptoassets and his partner, indicated the Paris prosecutor's office. The prosecution requested their placement in pre-trial detention. The three others were released without prosecution, no link having been established with the procedure, the prosecution said.
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What happened
The kidnapping took place on Tuesday, in the “early morning”. David Balland, 36, co-founder and ex-employee of Ledger, as well as his partner were kidnapped from their home in Méreau in Cher. He was taken to Châteauroux, while his wife was sequestered in several places.
On Wednesday January 22, numerous rumors circulated on social networks and particularly in the world of cryptocurrencies, according to which Éric Larchevêque, one of the four other founders of Ledger, popularized for his participation in the show “who wants to be my partner”, had been removed. The entrepreneur reacted during the day: “I would also like to express my gratitude for the numerous messages of support received, particularly in the face of the unfounded rumors which have circulated concerning my own safety. » Without revealing the substance of the affair.
Mutilated finger and ransom demand
However, it was Eric Larchévêque who raised the alarm on Tuesday after receiving a video of a mutilated finger from David Balland and a ransom demand, a “large ransom in cryptocurrency” demanded, said the prosecution, without specifying on Thursday the amount. “Part” of this “ransom was paid as part of the negotiation” with the police, but “the majority of the cryptocurrencies were seized and frozen”, however specified the prosecutor.
On Wednesday, the police managed to free David Balland, hospitalized for his mutilation.
His companion not found
In Châteauroux, two suspects were arrested upon his release on Wednesday, and a third the following night, when he returned to the scene, said a source close to the case. His companion remained nowhere to be found.
Leads collected during the first hearings and the use of telephones made it possible to put investigators on the trail of Étampes (Essonne), without really knowing what they were going to find there: a sponsor? The other victim? They finally found David Balland's wife “tied up in the trunk of a vehicle” in this town south of Paris, where six other suspects were arrested.
THIBAUD MORITZ / AFP
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
Who are the kidnappers? Is there a sponsor behind it?
A tenth person was arrested at the start of the investigations, at a location and date which have not been specified at this stage.
Among the ten suspects arrested this weekend: nine men and one woman, aged 20 to 40.
Most of the people arrested were known to the courts for common law crimes, but not for links to organized crime, according to Ms. Beccuau, who spoke at a press conference in Paris. Asked about the possibility of a sponsor as yet unidentified, or even abroad, Laure Beccuau simply replied that investigations were continuing to “identify all the actors”.
Huge relief
“We are deeply relieved that David and his wife have been released and are now safe,” Pascal Gauthier, president and CEO of Ledger, responded Thursday evening.
Same “immense relief” expressed by Eric Larchevêque on the social network I extend my sincere thanks and respect to the police, with particular mention to the GIGN, for their exceptional work and dedication. »
More than 230 gendarmes mobilized
The investigations were first led by the Bourges public prosecutor's office, for kidnapping and sequestration by an organized gang. Then the Paris prosecutor's office took over. The entire national gendarmerie was contacted, from the Bourges research section to the national Cyber unit.
“A kidnapping is extremely complex because it is a non-localized hostage-taking” especially since the kidnapping was “in two places”, underlined the GIGN during the press conference. “Negotiation is really a tactical tool” to achieve “proof of life”.
Around fifteen cyber investigators from the gendarmerie also worked to search, identify and seize cryptoassets.
In total, more than 230 gendarmes were mobilized.
This kidnapping case, linked to cryptocurrencies, is reminiscent of that of a 56-year-old man, found at the beginning of January in the trunk of a car near Le Mans, several hundred kilometers from his home in Ain. According to several media, it was a cryptocurrency influencer based in Dubai, who regularly posts videos about his winnings, and a ransom demand had been made.
