27-5-2025 – Parisian law enforcement have taken into custody twelve individuals suspected of orchestrating a series of violent cryptocurrency-targeted kidnappings that have plagued the French capital in recent weeks.
The Brigade de Répression du Banditisme—France’s elite unit specialising in armed criminality and serious theft—executed the arrests across Paris and the Loire-Atlantique region. Amongst those detained were several minors, highlighting concerns about the recruitment of young perpetrators through digital platforms.
Investigators have levelled charges encompassing criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and attempted abduction against the suspects. Authorities maintain that anonymous criminal masterminds have been systematically enlisting younger accomplices via social media networks to execute these brutal crimes.
Violent ordeal leaves victim mutilated
The investigation centres on two particularly harrowing incidents. The earlier attack unfolded on 1st May, when four disguised assailants seized the father of a well-known poker professional and digital currency investor in a brazen daylight operation.
Utilising a stolen vehicle emblazoned with counterfeit UPS branding, the criminals transported their captive to an undisclosed location before issuing ransom demands ranging between €5 million and €7 million for his safe return.
Law enforcement successfully located and freed the victim within France’s Essonne department, though not before his captors had inflicted severe bodily harm by severing one of his fingers. Six of yesterday’s arrests relate directly to this particular abduction, with suspects originating from Algeria, Réunion, Chesnay, and Levallois-Perret.
Second attack foiled by civilian intervention
A subsequent incident on 13th May saw three masked and armed individuals attempt to snatch a 34-year-old woman from Paris’s 11th Arrondissement. The attempted kidnapping was successfully thwarted when two male passersby intervened, forcing the would-be abductors to flee.
The intended victim was subsequently identified as the daughter of Pierre Noizat, who serves as co-founder and chief executive of French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium.
Escalating pattern of crypto-targeted violence
These latest incidents form part of an alarming trend of cryptocurrency-focused violent crime across France. Earlier this year, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his spouse endured a similarly brutal kidnapping in January, with Balland also suffering finger amputation during his ordeal. French security forces managed to secure his release without meeting ransom demands.
Government pledges enhanced protection
The escalating frequency and severity of such attacks prompted Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to announce enhanced security provisions for cryptocurrency executives on 16th May. The proposed measures encompass dedicated emergency communication channels and comprehensive residential security evaluations.
According to data compiled by Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp, France has experienced five physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency figures during 2025, representing the highest global tally. The United States follows with three documented incidents from the same period.
