French prosecutors have brought 25 individuals before investigative judges on Friday in connection with a wave of kidnapping attempts targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, including an aborted plot against the daughter and grandson of a crypto CEO.
According to AFP reports, authorities foiled a fresh abduction attempt this week in Nantes and arrested over 20 people connected to that case and a previous attack involving the family of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder and CEO of Paymium, a leading French crypto exchange.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said that the suspects will be questioned for their alleged involvement in multiple failed kidnapping plots, with charges of criminal conspiracy being considered.
The most high-profile case occurred in mid-May, when masked assailants attacked Noizat’s pregnant daughter, her husband, and their child in Paris’s trendy 11th arrondissement. Viral video footage captured the terrifying moment. Though the family sustained only light injuries, the incident triggered nationwide concern about the vulnerability of high-profile figures in France’s booming cryptocurrency sector.
Police investigations later linked the suspects to another failed plot near Nantes. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau convened an emergency meeting with crypto leaders shortly after the May attack, pledging increased protection for digital finance entrepreneurs.
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The ongoing investigations are viewed as a serious embarrassment for French authorities, with rising fears that the nation’s crypto industry could be targeted by organized criminal groups. One prominent figure in the digital finance sector compared the spate of abductions to a “Mexicanisation” of France, highlighting the growing risks faced by crypto elites.
As of Friday, the 25 suspects remain under tight scrutiny as judges determine whether formal charges will be filed.
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