The authorities in France are investigating a series of abductions linked to the world of cryptocurrencies.
The most recent incident saw the daughter of a businessman violently in ambush in the street Paris.
It took place on rue Pache in the 11th arrondissement of the French capital on Tuesday morning.
Captured on video and widely shared online, three masked men appear from a parked van and begin to fight against a woman on the ground.
After having failed to tear it away in the middle of the fight, they withdraw into the van and left.
According to reports, the target’s father is the co-founder of the French cryptocurrency exchange platform Paymium. She was 34 years old and was with her partner at the time.
Prosecutors did not confirm the identity of the victim, but launched an investigation by the unit of organized crime of the Paris police forces.
Authorities are now trying to find out if the recent incident series is linked.
On Wednesday, the French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, promised to respond to figures from the whole cryptography sector to make them aware of the current risks and promote measures they can take to protect themselves.
The owner of the company also targeted in Paris
Tuesday’s incident comes after the other on April 29, which saw a kidnapped cryptographic marketing company and was held in the ransom for more than two days before being found with its cut finger.
Around 10:30 am on April 29, the 60 -year -old man, who co -owned his business in Malta with his son, was kidnapped by four men in ski masks while walking in a street in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.
After they forced it in a van, it was finally discovered two days later during a descent of a property in Essonne, 12 miles south of Paris.
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While he was detained, his attackers demanded a ransom between 4 and 6 million pounds sterling but did not extort money, reported the newspaper Le Parisien.
Five suspects, aged 20 to 27, were arrested on the scene of the raid, which took place around 9 p.m. They remain under investigation
The prosecutor of the state of Essonne said in a statement: “The victim seems to be the father of a man who made a fortune in cryptocurrency, the crime involving a ransom application.”
The co-founder and his wife kidnapped from home
On January 21, David Balland, co-founder of the Cryptographic Society Ledger, and his wife were removed from their home in Mereau, in the center of France.
The attack occurred in the early hours of the morning, with suspects immediately separating the couple and taking Balland to a house in the neighboring town of Chateauroux, where they also cut one of his fingers.
The police were alerted to the kidnapping by Mr. Balland’s trading partner who had received a video from his cut finger with a request for a cryptocurrency of 10 million euros.
The detectives drew and released him, finding his wife attached in the trunk of a vehicle in a parking lot in Essonne the next day.
Nine people have been arrested and are still inquiry.
The father of the influencer of crypto kidnapped
In December of last year, the father of another French cryptocurrency influencer was intended for his home in eastern France alongside his wife and daughter.
Their attackers attached them and forced the 56 -year -old man in a car, pushing him before asking for a ransom of his son, who lives in Dubai.
The son contacted the police and his mother and his sister were quickly released.
His father was found attached in the trunk of a car in Normandy, showing signs of having suffered from physical violence and was pulverized with petrol.
Other similar incidents have also been reported in Spain and Belgium in recent months.
