French police record 135 crypto kidnapping cases since 2023 as crime wave swells

Police in France say 75 suspects are in pre-trial detention after attempting to kidnap crypto owners or their families — and demand Bitcoin and altcoins in exchange for their release.

The National Prosecutor’s Office organised crime-fighting unit, also known as Pnaco, called the cases a “phenomenon that is evolving rapidly.” Just three such cases were reported in 2023, with numbers ballooning to 18 in 2024 and skyrocketing 272% last year, Pnaco said.

“We’ve identified multiple individuals who are involved in several cases,” said Vanessa Perrée, the head of Pnaco, as reported by French newspaper Le Parisien. “We have revealed the existence of structured networks.”

So far this year, prosecutors say they have identified 47 cases. Among the most recent of these involved a family of five, who were reportedly held at gunpoint by robbers who made off with their car and a cold wallet containing $800,000 worth of crypto

Crackdowns continue

Pnaco said police and prosecutors’ crackdowns are bearing fruit.

So far, 88 people, including around a dozen minors, have been charged in 12 active crypto-related kidnapping cases. The vast majority of these 75 suspects remain in pre-trial detention, with the bulk of arrests coming in recent months, prosecutors said.

Pnaco said it had recently charged three men, aged between 25 and 30, in connection with a crypto-kidnapping reported in November in Challes-les-Eaux, in the Savoie Department.

Officers said two of the trio are also being charged with carrying out a “similar case” reported just weeks later in Charente-Maritime.

All of the suspects have prior criminal records, Pnaco added.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of kidnapping a woman and her 67-year-old mother in a violent attempt to extort crypto.

Officers say they found the boy “playing PlayStation games in his family home,” days after the attack, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

The boy and two alleged accomplices bundled the women into the trunk of their car. Police said they found traces of one of the alleged victims’ blood in the vehicle.

Detectives said the trio admitted they were “recruited” on Telegram by an individual who called himself “Hermano,” which means “brother” in Spanish.

Two of the suspects were arrested as they attempted to board a bus bound for Spain.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com