On the evening of January 23, the special operation of law enforcement to rescue the co-founder of the French cryptocurrency company Ledger, David Balland, and his wife concluded. The police arrested 10 people: nine men and one woman aged between 20 and 40 years, most of whom were already known to the police. They are accused of demanding ransom, torture, and organized kidnapping, which entails life imprisonment if they are found guilty.
Balland and his wife were kidnapped early in the morning on Tuesday in Paris. They were later separated and transported to different locations. The kidnappers contacted another co-founder of Ledger and demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency, a portion of which was paid. To rescue the hostages, 230 gendarmes were involved, including the special unit GIGN. After negotiations with the attackers, the law enforcement tracked down Balland’s location. He was found in one of the houses, and the businessman’s wife was found tied up in a van.
Almost all of the cryptocurrency assets paid as part of the ransom were successfully traced, frozen, and confiscated.
Balland was hospitalized due to a hand injury, while his wife was physically unharmed but is under medical supervision due to psychological trauma.
The CEO of Ledger, Pascal Gauthier, stated that the company “feels a deep relief that David and his wife have been released and are now safe.”
Ledger is a global leader in the security of crypto assets. The company was founded in 2014 and specializes in creating hardware wallets for cryptocurrencies. In March 2023, Ledger was valued at 1.3 billion euros.