The number of crypto kidnapping cases in France has surged, and Pnaco has filed lawsuits against 88 people.

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Deep Tide TechFlow news: On April 25, the French Office of the Public Prosecutor for Organized Crime (Pnaco), as reported by Le Monde, disclosed that since 2023, kidnapping and extortion cases involving cryptocurrencies have surged sharply—there were only 18 cases in 2024, rising to 67 in 2025, reaching 47 in 2026, for a cumulative total of 135 cases. At present, 12 cases are under investigation. 88 people (including more than 10 minors) have been formally charged, and 75 have been placed in pretrial detention.

Prosecutor Vanessa Péré said that the investigation has identified multiple suspects who repeatedly appear across multiple cases, revealing the existence of a structured criminal network. Typical cases include: in December 2025, three masked criminals forced a couple in Charente to transfer approximately 8 million euros worth of cryptocurrency; in January 2025, David Balland, a co-founder of the crypto hardware wallet company Ledger, was kidnapped. Pnaco stated that it will continue to strengthen nationwide criminal enforcement efforts.

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