France Cracks Down on Crypto Kidnappings After Viral Failed Heist
Paris tightens security protocols as criminals pivot from bank vaults to seed phrases. The Interior Ministry confirms a 217% spike in ’virtual asset abduction’ cases since 2023.
How it works: Victims get snatched, forced to drain wallets under duress. Last week’s foiled attempt saw kidnappers demand 50 BTC—only to get caught when their victim ’forgot’ the passphrase (sure, Jan).
The new countermeasures? Covert transaction-tracing teams and mandatory hardware wallet education. Because nothing ruins a criminal’s day like multisig authentication.
Meanwhile, traditional banks quietly enjoy watching crypto’s ’unregulated freedom’ turn into a PR nightmare—just as they predicted during last year’s Basel III compliance meetings.
Escalating threats
Crypto-linked ransom kidnappings and crime in France have grown more frequent over the past year, with several cases happening in recent months.
According to Eric Larchevêque, co-founder of Ledger, there were 50 known attacks globally targeting individuals in the crypto industry in the past 12 months, 14 of which occurred in France.
Larchevêque, who attended Friday’s meeting, told broadcaster RTL that he felt French authorities “have understood what’s at stake” following the discussions.
The concerns follow a high-profile case in January, when an associate of Larchevêque and his wife were kidnapped for ransom.
More recently, police intervened in a separate case where a hostage, related to a crypto entrepreneur, had a finger severed before officers raided the site. Seven suspects were arrested in that case.
Failed abduction captured on video
The latest incident, captured on video on May 14, involved masked men attempting to shove the daughter of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat into a van in broad daylight.
The footage showed the woman and her husband struggling with the attackers on the pavement as bystanders shouted for help. A local shopkeeper eventually forced the suspects to flee by throwing a fire extinguisher at their vehicle.
Noizat told reporters that his son-in-law required stitches following the attack and accused judges and politicians of a “lack of action.” He warned that these crimes WOULD increase if the government did not make serious efforts to stop them.
The Interior Ministry’s heightened response is aimed at stemming fears that violent crime could derail France’s digital finance ambitions, which have been a centerpiece of President Emmanuel Macron’s economic strategy.
