France makes arrests over cryptocurrency kidnapping
The most recent suspects, apprehended on Tuesday according to the source, are believed to have been part of an attempt to extort funds from a wealthy man by abducting his father.
On May 1, he was taken in Paris's southern 14th arrondissement in broad daylight by four men wearing ski masks who bundled him into a delivery van as passers-by looked on.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of several million euros (dollars) and cut off one of the man's fingers.
He was freed days later by a police tactical unit who stormed the house in a Paris suburb where he was being held.
There was no word Wednesday on the exact number or the locations of the arrests. The suspects can be held up to 96 hours without charges being brought.
Since the start of the year crypto-related kidnappings and abduction attempt haves sparked concern about the security of wealthy crypto tycoons, who have notched up immense fortunes from the booming alternative currency business.
One prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur urged authorities to "stop the Mexicanisation of France" -- a reference to kidnappings by violent organised crime groups.
The spate of abductions began in January, when kidnappers seized French crypto boss David Balland and his partner. Balland co-founded the crypto firm Ledger, valued at the time at more than $1 billion.
Balland's kidnappers cut off his finger and demanded a hefty ransom. He was freed the next day, and his girlfriend was found tied up in the boot of a car outside Paris.
The suspected mastermind of that operation and other similar attacks, 24-year-old Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, was last week arrested in Tangier, Morocco.
At least nine suspects are under investigation in that case.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
Macrons file defamation suit against right-wing US podcaster
Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday, July 23, against a right-wing US podcaster who claimed the spouse of the French president used to be a man. The 218-page complaint against Candace Owens, who has millions of followers on X and YouTube, was filed by the Macrons in Delaware Superior Court and seeks a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages. In a statement released by their lawyer, the Macrons said they filed the lawsuit after Owens repeatedly ignored requests to retract false and defamatory statements made on an eight-part YouTube and podcast series called Becoming Brigitte. "Owens' campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety," they said. "We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused. "It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all." The suit accuses Owens of using her popular podcast to spread "verifiably false and devastating lies" about the Macrons including that Brigitte Macron was born a man, that they are blood relatives and that Macron was chosen to be France's president as part of a CIA-operated mind control program. "If ever there was a clear-cut case of defamation, this is it," Tom Clare, a lawyer for the Macrons, said in a statement. "Owens both promoted and expanded on those falsehoods and invented new ones, all designed to cause maximum harm to the Macrons and maximize attention and financial gain for herself." Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken to the courts in France to combat claims she was born a man. Two women were convicted in September of last year of spreading false claims after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging that Brigitte Macron had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux – who is actually her brother. The ruling was overturned by a Paris appeals court and Macron appealed to the highest appeals court, the Court de Cassation, earlier this month.
Fashion Network
8 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Louis Vuitton: personal data of Portuguese clients compromised by cyber attack
Louis Vuitton customers in Portugal were victimized by a cyber-attack that allowed their personal data to be accessed by "unauthorized third parties", specifically their "first name, last name, gender, country, telephone number, email address, address, date of birth, purchase data, and preferences", reported Observador on Tuesday, July 22. However, "no information relating to payments" was eventually plundered. The number of customers affected is unknown. The case was subsequently confirmed by Notícias ao Minuto with the French luxury brand's communications agency in Portugal, which assured that "measures have been taken to investigate and contain this incident", using "top cybersecurity specialists". "In the course of our investigation, we can confirm that no payment information was in the accessed database. We are working to notify the relevant regulators and affected customers in accordance with applicable law," Louis Vuitton said in an official statement, regretting "any concern or inconvenience this situation may have caused", and stressing that it values "the trust customers have (in the brand) and the confidentiality of the relationship". "We continue to work to update our security measures to protect against an evolving threat landscape and have taken steps to strengthen the protection of our systems." According to Observador, the LVMH group brand has already notified the National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms (CNIL), the "main supervisory authority in the European Economic Area". On July 2, the data of Louis Vuitton customers in the UK and Hong Kong was also accessed and stolen. The first cyber-attack of a similar nature took place a week earlier on South Korean systems.
Fashion Network
8 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Louis Vuitton: personal data of Portuguese clients compromised by cyber attack
Louis Vuitton customers in Portugal were victimized by a cyber-attack that allowed their personal data to be accessed by "unauthorized third parties", specifically their "first name, last name, gender, country, telephone number, email address, address, date of birth, purchase data, and preferences", reported Observador on Tuesday, July 22. However, "no information relating to payments" was eventually plundered. The number of customers affected is unknown. The case was subsequently confirmed by Notícias ao Minuto with the French luxury brand's communications agency in Portugal, which assured that "measures have been taken to investigate and contain this incident", using "top cybersecurity specialists". "In the course of our investigation, we can confirm that no payment information was in the accessed database. We are working to notify the relevant regulators and affected customers in accordance with applicable law," Louis Vuitton said in an official statement, regretting "any concern or inconvenience this situation may have caused", and stressing that it values "the trust customers have (in the brand) and the confidentiality of the relationship". "We continue to work to update our security measures to protect against an evolving threat landscape and have taken steps to strengthen the protection of our systems." According to Observador, the LVMH group brand has already notified the National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms (CNIL), the "main supervisory authority in the European Economic Area". On July 2, the data of Louis Vuitton customers in the UK and Hong Kong was also accessed and stolen. The first cyber-attack of a similar nature took place a week earlier on South Korean systems.
