French authorities arrest six suspects after crypto ransom demand in magistrate kidnap

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.

Details of the investigation and escape

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 on Friday after the pair’s escape, prosecutor Dran said the magistrate’s partner, who was not home when the two victims were abducted, 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 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.

“Alerted by the noise, a neighbour intervened. He was able to open the door and allow our two victims to escape,” Dran said.

French authorities have been dealing with a string of kidnappings and extortion attempts targeting the families of wealthy individuals dealing in cryptocurrencies. In May 2025, a violent attempt was made in Paris against the family of Pierre Noizat, the CEO and co-founder of the French crypto exchange Paymium.

Attackers targeted Noizat’s daughter and young grandson in broad daylight, though the abduction was ultimately thwarted when the family fought back, and a bystander intervened with a fire extinguisher. 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.

The rise of physical extortion in digital finance

This trend of targeted physical violence highlights a shift in criminal tactics. Because cryptocurrency wallets are secured by cryptographic private keys, they are virtually impossible to hack through traditional digital means if the owner follows basic security protocols.

This has led organized crime groups to utilize physical violence to extract these keys directly from the source. Under French law, the charges associated with kidnapping as part of an organized gang are classified as exceptionally grave criminal offenses.

When the crime involves premeditated threats of mutilation or torture to secure a financial ransom, the penal code allows for the maximum sentencing available under the justice system. Legal experts suggest that if a jury finds the suspects guilty of these aggravated charges, they face the possibility of life imprisonment.

The Ministry of the Interior remains in high-level discussions with industry leaders to mitigate these physical risks to employees within the growing digital finance sector, as the government seeks to prove that violence against those in the crypto space will lead to swift and absolute judicial consequences.

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