Judicial police are conducting a major operation on Monday morning. More than a dozen suspects have been arrested as part of two kidnappings targeting crypto entrepreneurs. This offensive highlights a disturbing phenomenon that shakes the French ecosystem of cryptocurrencies. But will these arrests be enough to reassure a sector plagued by a wave of unprecedented violence?
In short
- More than a dozen suspects arrested this Monday by the brigade of repression of banditry.
- Two separate surveys concern the abduction of the father of a crypto entrepreneur and the attempted abduction of the daughter of the CEO of Paymium.
- The investigations reveal a recurring operating mode with young performers manipulated by anonymous sponsors.
An operating mode revealing organized crime
This Monday operation marks the culmination of several weeks of investigations carried out after a series of kidnappings of crypto entrepreneurs in France.
Investigators from the banditry repression brigade, supported by the Parisian BRI, arrested Especially in Suresnes in Hauts-de-Seine. Among the suspects, several minors were placed in police custody.
These arrests concern two separate, but closely linked files. The first dates back to May 1, when the father of a young wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur was removed in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.
Four hooded men had forcibly embarked it in a dummy ups van. The kidnappers claimed between 5 and 7 million euros in crypto.
To put pressure, they had cut a finger of their victim and filmed their act. This barbarism strangely recalls the removal of the Ledger co -founder last January in the Cher. After intensive telephone investigations, law enforcement had finally released the sixties in a Palaiseau hideout.
The second case took place on May 13 in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Three masked and armed men tried to remove a 34 -year -old woman near a school. The filmed scene shocked passers -by.
The victim turns out to be the daughter of Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium, a renowned crypto exchange platform. The heroic intervention of a passer -by armed with a fire extinguisher and the victim's companion failed the attempt.
A growing threat that worries the French crypto ecosystem
Investigators now favor the track of a single criminal organization. This structure would recruit young performers via social networks to carry out these violent operations.
The suspects already identified reveal a recurring profile: young men recruited punctually, from various horizons (Algeria, Réunion, Chesnay, Levallois-Perret).
This wave of kidnappings is part of a broader context of increasing insecurity for crypto entrepreneurs in France. Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, recently received Entrepreneurs Crypto in an emergency to unveil an unprecedented protection plan.
The measures announced include a priority direct line with the police, personalized security audits at home and specialized training for the police.
The urgency is justified by alarming figures: France concentrates 26 % of the world's attacks linked to cryptocurrencies.
Faced with this worrying situation, sector entrepreneurs go up to the niche. They demand more severe justice and denounce the dangerous exposure of their personal data in official documents.
This magnitude could be a major turning point in this underground war. But the effectiveness of these arrests remains to be proven: will they manage to have permanently dissuade the criminal networks which covet this expanding crypto sector?
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