French couple forced to transfer $1 million in Bitcoin to crypto kidnappers

A couple living near the French capital has become the latest target in a spate of brazen attacks on cryptocurrency owners in France.

The victims were assaulted by masked men in their home and held hostage until they transferred a massive amount of Bitcoin to their captors.

Another crypto kidnapping shakes France

The couple, in their fifties, was visited Monday morning by three individuals posing as police officers. The men, aged between 20 and 30, were wearing balaclavas and gloves.

They rang the doorbell at around 8 a.m. and forced the 59-year-old woman to the ground, when she met them, dashed inside and found her 58-year-old partner upstairs.

The assailants threatened to stab the woman with a knife unless the man sent his crypto holdings to a wallet under their control.

After receiving the digital coins worth €900,000 (over $1 million), they fled the scene in a white van they had parked outside the house.

The couple, who were restrained on a sofa, managed to free themselves, seek help from neighbors, and call the police.

French news outlets, including the crypto portal Journal du Coin and Francebleu, reported on the incident on Tuesday.

Franceinfo broke the news, quoting a knowledgeable source who said French law enforcement launched an investigation into an organized kidnapping, armed robbery, and criminal conspiracy.

The probe is led by the Banditry Repression Brigade, a special police unit under the French interior ministry, and the Versailles Prosecutor’s Office.

The victims live in Le Chesnay, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. The woman was taken to the hospital with an injury to the shoulder received when she was thrown to the floor.

During the attack, the perpetrators were on a video call with another man who was apparently giving them instructions. No arrests have been made yet.

France is facing a spike in crimes targeting crypto owners

Among those targeted was a co-founder of the company behind the popular Ledger wallet, who was freed in a raid by the GIGN, the elite special operations unit of the French National Gendarmerie.

The spike in hostage-takings for ransom like these coincided with the growing popularity of cryptocurrency investments. Criminals also saw an opportunity to exploit some of the advantages of decentralized digital money, which is easier to transfer and harder to seize by the state.

“The attack in Le Chesnay underscores the need for investors to strengthen not only their digital security, but also their discretion and physical protection,” Journal du Coin noted in its article, echoing earlier calls for the same issue by French authorities.