Crypto Crime Wave: French Police Rescue Kidnapping Victim Minus a Finger

French police successfully freed the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur on Saturday night after he was abducted and held for ransom. The victim, however, suffered a gruesome injury—one of his fingers had been severed by his captors.

The abduction occurred Thursday morning on a Paris street, where four masked men forced the man into a van. Authorities later discovered he had been held hostage for two days in an Airbnb accommodation located about 12 miles south of the capital.

During his captivity, the kidnappers sent a chilling video to the victim’s son showing his mutilated hand, and demanded a multimillion-euro ransom in exchange for his release.

Following the rescue operation, French police detained five suspects, all aged between 23 and 27, according to a statement from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.

The crime bears resemblance to other recent cryptocurrency-related kidnappings across France and neighboring regions. One notable case occurred in January 2025 when David Balland, co-founder of crypto wallet firm Ledger, and his wife were abducted from their central France home.

Balland endured a similar fate—his finger was severed, and the footage was sent to his business associate Eric Larchevêque as part of a ransom demand. The couple was later rescued by police.

Another case unfolded in December 2024 when the wife of crypto influencer Stéphane Winkel was abducted in Belgium. She was eventually freed after the kidnapper crashed his car during a high-speed police pursuit. Authorities are still working to determine whether these kidnappings are linked or merely copycat crimes, though the methods used share notable similarities.