French crypto businessman and his wife were released after kidnapping

The founder of a French cryptocurrency company and his wife were released in France this week after being brutally kidnapped and held for ransom, French authorities announced on Thursday.

David Baland, founder Ledgera company that sells physical storage devices Crypto assetsHe was kidnapped with his wife early Tuesday from their home in the city of Verezons in central France, according to the Paris Public Prosecutor. The public prosecutor said the couple were taken by car, then separated and detained in different locations.

The kidnapping launched a large-scale investigation involving more than 230 officers who sought to locate the couple. In the end, they were released without firing a single shot, the authorities said at a press conference in Paris on Thursday evening.

“This was a very complex case,” said General Ghislain Reti, head of the elite hostage-rescue unit that freed the couple.

The kidnappers contacted another Ledger founder and demanded a large ransom be paid in cryptocurrency, Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Picouau said. She said investigators are still determining the total amount they requested.

The company alerted gendarmerie and police forces in small towns, rural areas and suburbs in France. It urged French media aware of the investigation to refrain from publishing any details to avoid endangering the couple’s safety.

Gendarmes quickly found Mr. Baland in Chateauroux, about 30 miles southwest of his home, and released him on Wednesday. Ms. Bekwao said he was taken to hospital due to the “mutilation” caused by the kidnappers to his hand.

An official familiar with the investigation, who was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case, said the kidnappers sent a photo of Mr. Paland’s mutilated finger to put pressure on the company.

Ms. Bikwao said part of the ransom was paid during negotiations with the kidnappers. “Almost all of those cryptocurrencies have been traced, frozen and confiscated,” she said.

On Thursday, using surveillance of some suspects, analysis of phone records and interrogation of several people who had already been arrested, investigators located Mr. Baland’s wife in Etampes, about 80 miles north of Vierzon.

Ms Pekwao said officers found her tied up in a car but she was not injured.

Ms. Bekwao said nine men and a woman, aged between 20 and 40, were detained for questioning over the kidnapping. She did not identify them or provide details about their involvement, saying only that they were from different cities and had criminal records. She added that they were not known to the police to be part of organized crime.

wrote Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger On social media Thursday that he “feels deeply relieved.”

“Our top priority has always been to allow law enforcement to do their job and protect the integrity of the investigation,” Mr. Gauthier said. “We have respected law enforcement requests to protect important details of the ongoing investigation and appreciate members of the press who have done the same.”

Ledger, a prominent startup valued at more than $1 billion, was founded in 2014 and has sold more than six million units since then, according to the company’s website. The company says it has more than 700 employees in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Eric Larchvik, another founder of the company and a well-known television personality, appeared on the judging panel The French equivalent of “Shark Tank”.“, expressing “tremendous relief and profound joy” On social media After Mr. Balland and his wife were released.

The Public Prosecution opens an investigation into accusations of kidnapping a person and holding him against his will within an organized gang in order to obtain something in return. Acts of torture; And armed extortion. These crimes could lead to life imprisonment, Ms. Bikwao said.

The case echoed a similar case According to French media reports This month a man and his family were taken hostage by a group that wanted to blackmail his son, a cryptocurrency influencer living in Dubai. They were released, but no one was arrested in the case. According to news reports.

At this stage, investigators have not established any links between the two cases, Ms. Pekwao said.