PARIS (AP) – French authorities have successfully rescued the father of a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur during a nighttime operation, after he was abducted for ransom. This incident highlights growing criminal activities targeting individuals involved in digital assets.
According to the prosecutor’s office on Sunday, the man was lured to Paris on Thursday morning.
“The victim is the father of a successful cryptocurrency entrepreneur, and there was a ransom demand involved in the case,” the statement revealed, though it didn’t disclose specific names or identities.
Authorities located the hostages at a residence in the Essonne region, south of Paris, where the victim was rescued on Saturday night, the prosecutor’s office confirmed.
The victim received treatment for an injury, with reports suggesting that one of his fingers was severed by his captor.
Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident—four were apprehended at or near the location where the man was held, while a fifth was caught in a vehicle believed to be linked to the abduction, as stated by the prosecutor’s office.
The police are exploring various potential charges, including offenses related to torture.
This follows an earlier incident in January, where a co-founder of a cryptocurrency wallet company, along with his wife, was also abducted from their home in central France.
In that case, police made ten arrests, with the suspects allegedly demanding a cryptocurrency ransom from another co-founder.
The next day, the elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, which specializes in hostage rescues, located Baland bound in a vehicle after his wife’s release, as reported by police.
