Lyon (AFP) – French authorities have arrested six suspects, including a minor, after a magistrate and her mother were held captive last week for around 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot, prosecutors said on Sunday. Four men and one woman were detained, three overnight and two on Sunday morning, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran told AFP. He later confirmed a minor had been arrested on Sunday afternoon.
The individuals were taken into custody following the discovery of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother on Friday morning, found injured in a garage in the southeastern Drome region. Two of those arrested overnight were detained as they attempted to take a bus to Spain, according to a source close to the case speaking on condition of anonymity. Authorities continue to actively search for further suspects, a second source close to the case said, adding that the woman in custody is the partner of one of the four male suspects.
During a press conference Friday after the pair’s escape, prosecutor Dran said the magistrate’s partner — who was not home when the two victims were abducted overnight Wednesday to Thursday — has a leading position in a cryptocurrency start-up. A massive police search involving 160 officers was launched after the magistrate’s partner had received a message and a photo of her from the kidnappers demanding a ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency. The captors threatened to mutilate the victims if the transfer was not made quickly, Dran told reporters, declining to specify the amount demanded.
But the two women managed to free themselves and call for help without any ransom being paid, by banging on the garage door in Bourg-les-Valence. “Alerted by the noise, a neighbour intervened. He was able to open the door and allow our two victims to escape,” Dran said.
– Crypto-linked kidnappings –
French authorities have been dealing with a string of kidnappings and extortion attempts targeting the families of wealthy individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies. In January 2025, kidnappers seized French crypto boss David Balland and his partner. Balland co-founded a crypto firm called Ledger, valued at the time at more than $1 billion. Balland’s kidnappers cut off his finger and demanded a hefty ransom. He was freed the next day, and his girlfriend was found tied up in the boot of a car outside Paris.
In May, the father of a man who ran a Malta-based cryptocurrency company was kidnapped by four hooded men in Paris. The victim, whose finger was also severed by the kidnappers and for whom a ransom of several million euros was demanded, was released 58 hours later in a raid by the security forces.
© 2024 AFP
