Ledger co-founder kidnapped and freed in France — here’s everything we know

Ledger co-founder kidnapped and freed in France — here’s everything we know
Regulation
French authorities arrested 10 individuals involved with the kidnapping, said prosecutor Laure Beccuau. Illustration: Andrés Tapia; Photos: Shutterstock
  • David Balland, a Ledger co-founder, and his wife were kidnapped on Tuesday.
  • The case is a shocking escalation in crypto crime.
  • Police are probing the incident as arrests are made.

A severed finger, a Bitcoin ransom, and a national police operation.

Crypto and crime aren’t strangers, but this week saw an especially dramatic episode play out in France.

On Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced that French authorities had rescued David Balland, the co-founder of crypto hardware developer Ledger, and his wife after kidnappers seized them on Tuesday.

Here’s everything we know about the kidnapping and rescue, according to a French prosecutor, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, and French media reports.

The kidnapping

In the early morning on Tuesday, David Balland and his wife were kidnapped in Vierzon, a town in central France.

The criminals separated the couple, drove them to different locations, and demanded a large ransom from another unnamed Ledger co-founder, according to Laure Beccuau, a French prosecutor. The specific amount of the ransom was not disclosed.

A Ledger spokesperson declined to say which co-founder was contacted, citing the ongoing investigation.

The WhatsApp account the criminals used was linked to a phone number in Southeast Asia and registered with a VPN, according to Le Monde.

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To buy more time and help track the criminals, investigators sent them one Bitcoin, or approximately $105,000, reported Le Monde.

Rumours

On Wednesday, rumours of the kidnapping began to circulate on social media.

A local French publication reported that there was a concentration of police officers in Vierzon and that David Balland had been abducted.

Several social media accounts mistakenly reported that Éric Larchevêque, another Ledger co-founder, was the target of the kidnapping.

Larchevêque has since said that these rumours were “unfounded.”

Rescue

That same day, French authorities stopped a stolen car suspected to be linked to the kidnapping, according to Le Monde.

They arrested the driver and used his phone to track down another phone in Châteauroux, a French town about a 45-minute drive south from Vierzon.

In Châteauroux, they found Balland, alive but with a missing finger. The kidnappers had cut it off and sent a video of his mutilated hand to Ledger after they had not received the full ransom, reported Le Monde.

On Thursday, in the early afternoon, the police rescued Balland’s wife in a car just south of Paris. She was bound but otherwise unharmed.

Going public

Shortly after securing Balland’s wife, the Paris prosecutor’s office publicly confirmed the abduction and rescue of the couple.

To prevent any interference with the rescue operation, authorities had asked the media not to report on the investigation until they gave publications the green light.

Beccuau, the French prosecutor, said that police had arrested 10 individuals — nine men and one woman. The suspects ranged between 20 and 40 years old.

“Investigations into the criminal organization are ongoing,” she added.

Ledger co-founder response

After French authorities went public with the investigation on Thursday, Pascal Gauthier, the Ledger CEO, acknowledged it, too.

“Our top priority was always to allow law enforcement to do their jobs and protect the integrity of the investigation,” he said on Thursday.

Larchevêque, the other co-founder, also weighed in.

“I feel immense relief and profound joy knowing that my friend and business partner David, along with his wife,” he said, “have been released.”

Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter and Ben Weiss is a Dubai-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email them at liam@dlnews.com and bweiss@dlnews.com.

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