The Paris prosecutor’s office is investigating the incident, suspecting financial motives due to the family’s crypto connections.
According to Le Parisien, French police are investigating an attempted kidnapping involving the daughter of a crypto company CEO, her partner, and their two-year-old child. The incident took place around 8:20 a.m. on Rue Pache, in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. The 34-year-old woman was walking with her child when three masked men tried to forcibly drag her into a van disguised as a Chronopost delivery vehicle.
The criminal plan was foiled thanks to the intervention of the child’s father, who, despite being physically assaulted, managed to prevent the kidnapping. During the scuffle, one of the attackers dropped a handgun, whose authenticity is still being verified by authorities. The assailants then fled in the same van, which was later found abandoned on a nearby street.
The Paris prosecutor’s office assigned the case to the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme, focusing the investigation on the possibility of financial motives, given the family’s ties to the digital asset industry. Reports identify the woman as the daughter of the CEO of a major cryptocurrency purchasing platform.
The incident reflects a growing global trend of kidnappings and extortion attempts linked to the Bitcoin and crypto world. In France alone, three crypto-related kidnapping cases have been reported this year, including those involving David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and the father of a Paris-based crypto entrepreneur.