French police have rescued a man in his 50s who was kidnapped for ransom in a Paris suburb. The victim, father of a cryptocurrency millionaire, was found injured with a missing finger. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the kidnapping.
The kidnapping occurred on Thursday, May 1, when four masked men ambushed the victim in central Paris, forcing him into a van. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 5-7 million euros from the victim’s son, a wealthy cryptocurrency trader.
Police tracked the kidnappers using phone signals and located the victim at a house in Palaiseau, south of Paris. They rescued him on Saturday, May 3. The victim’s finger was severed during the ordeal.
Pattern of Cryptocurrency Kidnappings
This incident follows a similar kidnapping in January, where a 56-year-old man was found alive in the trunk of a car near Le Mans. The kidnappers had demanded ransom from his son, a prominent cryptocurrency figure in Dubai. Seven people were later arrested in connection with that case.
In another recent incident, David Ballou, co-founder of cryptocurrency firm Ledger, was kidnapped along with his wife in central France. They were later rescued, but Ballou lost a finger. Eleven people were arrested in connection with that case, with the kidnappers demanding 10 million euros in ransom.
The source of this information is bbc.com.