Overview
- French organized‑crime prosecutors charged 88 people, including more than 10 minors, across 12 crypto‑extortion kidnapping cases, with authorities saying they have logged more than 135 incidents since 2023.
- Victims have been seized for hours or days and forced to transfer cryptocurrency, with some attacks involving severe violence, including cases where captors cut off fingers.
- Investigators report recurring suspects across separate files, a pattern they say points to structured networks coordinating multiple abductions.
- Officials presented a prevention platform to the crypto community and outlined plans under discussion for a dedicated police unit and greater use of blockchain tracing tools.
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov alleged that French tax data on crypto owners was leaked or sold to criminals, a claim that remains unverified and that officials have not confirmed.