Crypto kidnapping incidents have seen another high-profile case come to light, with the French authorities arresting six people linked to the kidnapping of a city magistrate.
The accused, including a minor, have been detained after a magistrate and her mother were found kidnapped in southeastern France, with the kidnappers asking for a ransom in crypto.
According to the Lyon public prosecutor’s office, the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother were discovered in a garage in the Drôme department, held for around 30 hours.
Authorities are now questioning the suspects to understand how and why the abduction happened, which appears to have a cryptocurrency link.
The identity of the suspects and the victims has been kept confidential, in tandem with the nation’s laws.
Crypto ransom demand sent to magistrate’s partner triggered probe
French authorities carried out a 160-officer operation leading to the arrest of six people, following the kidnapping of the magistrate and her mother.
Prosecutors said the case began when the magistrate’s partner, who holds a leadership role at a cryptocurrency start-up, received a message and a photo from the kidnappers demanding ransom in cryptocurrency.
The large-scale police response aimed to quickly locate and rescue the victims, who were found injured but alive. Investigators are now questioning the suspects to uncover the full details of the crime and how the perpetrators sought to exploit the digital currency angle in their ransom demand.
Four men and one woman were held overnight, and a sixth suspect, a kid, was captured later Sunday afternoon, according to individuals familiar with the investigation.
Two individuals were apprehended while attempting to board a bus going for Spain.
According to investigators, one of the people in custody is one of the male suspects’ partners. Police are still looking for other suspects.
France sees rise in crypto kidnapping cases
France is seeking ways to deal with a growing problem involving kidnappings and extortion of families linked to the crypto space.
In January 2025, kidnappers abducted French crypto executive David Balland, who is the co-founder of Ledger, a crypto company that was worth over $1 billion, and his partner.
Balland was brutally hurt, with one of his fingers having been severed, and the attackers demanded a large ransom. He was rescued the following day, while his partner was later discovered bound in the trunk of a car outside Paris.
Months later, in May, the father of a Malta-based cryptocurrency company executive was also kidnapped in Paris by four masked men.
The victim, who suffered similar mutilation and was held for a multimillion-euro ransom, was freed after 58 hours during a security forces raid.