1 day ago
French instrumentality enforcement officers freed the antheral aft raiding a spot successful a Paris suburb wherever helium was held captive for ransom.
The begetter of an unnamed crypto entrepreneur was freed by constabulary successful Paris, France, during a instrumentality enforcement raid of the spot wherever the antheral was held captive for ransom implicit respective days.
According to reporting from Le Monde, the May 3 raid resulted successful 5 arrests. Local outlet Le Parisien besides said the kidnappers demanded betwixt 5 cardinal and 7 cardinal euros, oregon up to $7.9 million, to merchandise the captive man.
Although the details connected the individuality of the victims stay scant, apt for information reasons, the crypto entrepreneur and his begetter co-owned a crypto selling steadfast based successful Malta, French media reports.
This incidental features similarities to the kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland successful France successful January 2025. Balland was besides held for a crypto ransom until helium was freed by instrumentality enforcement officers successful a rescue operation.
Unfortunately, this latest incidental besides follows a drawstring of akin ransom attempts astir the satellite targeting crypto users and their loved ones successful an effort to extort funds from individuals perceived to clasp a sizable magnitude of wealth.
Related: $330M Bitcoin societal engineering theft unfortunate is aged US citizen
Crypto kidnapping attempts sadly go each excessively common
In November 2024, WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka was kidnapped and forced to wage a $1 cardinal cryptocurrency ransom to the assailants, who abducted him utilizing a conveyance successful downtown Toronto, Canada.
Six individuals successful Chicago, Illinois were charged successful February 2025 with the kidnapping of a family and their nanny successful speech for a crypto ransom.
According to an FBI report, the kidnappers forced their mode wrong the Chicago location by pretending they had accidentally damaged the family's mechanical store door.
Once inside, the suspects forced the household into a van and abducted the household for 5 days earlier forcing them to surrender $15 cardinal worthy of cryptocurrencies to unafraid their release.
Online streamer Amouranth was the victim of a location invasion successful March 2025 erstwhile respective equipped suspects held her astatine gunpoint and demanded the keys to her cryptocurrency.
Four suspects were charged successful transportation to the incidental and arrested by instrumentality enforcement officials successful the US authorities of Texas.
Magazine: Bitcoiner enactment trap extortion? BTS firm’s blockchain disaster: Asia Express
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