Authorities in France are investigating a series of kidnappings linked to the world of cryptocurrencies.
The most recent incident saw a businessman’s daughter violently ambushed in the street in Paris.
It took place on Rue Pache in the French capital’s 11th arrondissement on Tuesday morning.
Captured on video and shared widely online, three masked men appear from a parked van and begin wrestling a woman to the ground.
After failing to snatch her amid the struggle, they retreat to the van and drive off.
According to reports, the target’s father is the co-founder of French cryptocurrency exchange platform Paymium. She is believed to be 34 and was with her partner at the time.
Prosecutors have not confirmed the victim’s identity but have launched an investigation led by the organised crime unit of the Paris police force.
Authorities are now looking into whether the recent string of incidents are linked.
On Wednesday, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau promised to meet figures from across the crypto sector to make them aware of the current risks and promote measures they can take to protect themselves.
Company owner also targeted in Paris
Tuesday’s incident comes after another on 29 April, which saw a crypto marketing firm owner kidnapped and held to ransom for more than two days before being found with his finger cut off.
At around 10.30am on 29 April, the 60-year-old, who co-owned his business in Malta with his son, was kidnapped by four men in ski masks as he walked down a street in Paris’s 14th arrondissement.
After they forced him into a van, he was eventually discovered two days later during a raid of a property in Essonne, 12 miles south of Paris.
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While he was being held, his attackers demanded a ransom of between £4m and £6m but failed to extort any money, newspaper Le Parisien reported.
Five suspects, aged between 20 and 27, were arrested at the scene of the raid, which took place around 9pm. They remain under investigation
Essonne’s state prosecutor said in a statement: “The victim appears to be the father of a man who made his fortune in cryptocurrencies, with the crime involving a ransom demand.”
Co-founder and his wife abducted from home
On 21 January, David Balland, the co-founder of crypto firm Ledger, and his wife were abducted from their home in Mereau, central France.
The attack happened in the early hours of the morning, with suspects separating the couple immediately and taking Balland to a house in the nearby town of Chateauroux, where they also cut one of his fingers off.
Police were alerted to the kidnapping by Mr Balland’s business partner who had received a video of his severed finger with a demand for a €10m cryptocurrency payment.
Detectives traced and freed him, finding his wife tied up in the boot of a vehicle in a car park in Essonne the following day.
Nine people were arrested and are still under investigation.
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Crypto influencer’s father kidnapped
In December last year, the father of another French cryptocurrency influencer was targeted at his home in eastern France alongside his wife and daughter.
Their attackers tied them up and forced the 56-year-old man into a car, driving him away before demanding a ransom from his son, who lives in Dubai.
The son contacted police and his mother and sister were quickly freed.
His father was found tied up in the boot of a car in Normandy, showing signs of having suffered physical violence and been sprayed with petrol.
Other similar incidents have also been reported in Spain and Belgium in recent months.
