Crypto Wealth turns into a nightmare in Paris, where a father is kidnapped in broad daylight, forcing his millionaire son to pay a cruel ransom.
French police released a man over the weekend who was kidnapped in Paris as part of a ransom plan against his wealthy son, prosecutors said. The victim’s identity has not been released and was kidnapped in the city’s District 14 on Thursday, May 2.
He was tracked and released during late night operations in a suburb of the capital on Saturday, May 3. Five men in their 20s were arrested and committed crimes by French authorities. One of them was caught driving a car believed to be abducted.
Father’s crypto wealth against son
The kidnapper is said to be cash against the man’s son, a millionaire who runs a cryptocurrency marketing company in Malta with his father. Police said the abduction occurred in the middle of the year when four masked men kidnapped their father into a delivery truck.
The motivation is ransom. French news source Le Parisien said the kidnappers demanded between €5 million and €7 million. Investigators believe the attacker knew his son’s cryptocurrency wealth and used his father as a means to intimidate him to pay.
The father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped in a wide daylight in Paris on Thursday. Similar to David Balland’s attack, demanding a ransom of €5 million, one of the victims’ fingers was amputated.
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) May 4, 2025
Finger cuts to put pressure on victim’s family
One of the father’s fingers was cut off in a horrible act aimed at putting pressure on the victim’s son and police feared they would further dismember if they did not intervene.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau awarded police to X, calling it “decisive.”
As of today, the market cap of cryptocurrencies stood at nearly $3 trillion. Chart: TradingView
Previous Threats and Criminal Criminal Criminal
Police are now investigating whether the threat is involved. The victim’s wife informed the police that the family had been threatened before. Opposition officials and cybercrime experts are collaborating to investigate the scope of the conspiracy.
The five suspects may be charged with serious crimes, including kidnapping, blackmail, torture and armed blackmail. Police said the investigation is still ongoing.
Similar attacks involving encrypted data
This is not the first time that members of the French cryptocurrency community have been targeted. David Balland, co-founder of the billion-dollar crypto firm Ledger, was kidnapped in Paris on January 21.
His kidnapper amputated one of his fingers and called for ransom. He was later released. His girlfriend was then found in the trunk of the car.
With the popularity of cryptocurrency wealth, French authorities seem to be working on a shocking trend: wealthy people in the cryptocurrency community or those associated with it are victims of cruel kidnapping.
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