French authorities arrested five suspects after a magistrate and her mother were held captive for approximately 30 hours in a cryptocurrency ransom plot that threatened mutilation.
The 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother freed themselves Friday after being abducted from their home in southeastern France.
The arrests of four men and one woman followed the discovery of the women injured in a garage in the Drôme department, Lyon public prosecutor Thierry Dran said Friday.
A police search involving 160 officers was launched after the magistrate's partner received a message demanding a cryptocurrency ransom.
Partner Targeted For Crypto Holdings
The magistrate's partner holds a leading position in a cryptocurrency startup, Dran told reporters, though he was not home during the abduction overnight Wednesday to Thursday.
The captors threatened to mutilate the women if the cryptocurrency transfer was not made quickly, though prosecutors declined to specify the ransom amount demanded.
The two women managed to free themselves and alert authorities by banging on the garage door, which a neighbor heard and opened. They were rescued Friday morning in Bourg-lès-Valence without any ransom being paid, according to prosecutors.
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Violent Pattern Against Crypto Executives
French authorities have dealt with a string of kidnappings targeting families of cryptocurrency industry figures.
In January 2025, kidnappers seized Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife from their home in central France, cutting off his finger and demanding a hefty cryptocurrency ransom from another co-founder.
Balland was freed the next day after part of the ransom was paid, though prosecutors said almost all the cryptocurrency was traced, frozen and seized. His wife was found tied up in a car outside Paris. Ten people were arrested in that case.
In May 2025, kidnappers abducted the father of a Malta-based cryptocurrency company operator in Paris, severing his finger and demanding a ransom of several million euros. The victim was released 58 hours later in a raid by security forces.
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