In brief
- Authorities detained six suspects, including a minor, after a magistrate and her mother were abducted and later escaped.
- Prosecutors said kidnappers demanded crypto as a ransom and threatened mutilation, but no payment was made.
- The case adds to a rise in crypto-linked “wrench attacks,” with France emerging as a focal point, Decrypt was told.
French police have arrested six people after a magistrate was kidnapped and held for several hours in a case authorities say involved a crypto ransom demand.
The arrests followed the discovery of the 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother on Friday morning, when they were found injured in a garage in the southeastern Drôme region, according to a report from Agence France-Presse syndicated on local media.
Prosecutors said the magistrate’s partner, who was not home when the abduction took place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday last week, was targeted after the kidnappers sent her a message and a photo of the two women demanding a crypto ransom.
Authorities then launched a large-scale search involving 160 officers, according to prosecutor Thierry Dran, who described her as “an associate in a startup with cryptocurrency activities” at a press conference on Friday.
The latest case in France is “quite typical patterns in past wrench-type incidents” involving kidnapping and extortion, though cases “involving as many as five abductors are relatively rare,” and suggest that “such a pattern is developing into organized crime,” a representative at blockchain security firm CertiK told Decrypt.
The captors reportedly threatened to mutilate the victims if payment was not made quickly, though prosecutors did not disclose the amount demanded.
“Alerted by the noise, a neighbor intervened. He was able to open the door and thus allow our two victims to escape,” a translation of the conference statement reads. Dran confirmed that no ransom was paid.
Police have not disclosed the ages or identities of the adult suspects, citing the ongoing investigation and the involvement of a juvenile, with prosecutors saying formal charges are expected in the coming days as authorities determine each suspect’s role.
Rising 'wrench attacks'
The case is reminiscent of earlier high-profile kidnappings in France, including the abduction of Ledger co-founder David Balland, who was kidnapped at his home and held for ransom in crypto.
Attackers severed one of the victim’s fingers and sent a video to a business partner to pressure payment, before police later arrested several suspects and rescued the victim.
Incidents identified as so-called “wrench attacks” have resulted in more than $41 million in losses last year, with incidents up 75% year on year, and France emerging as a hotspot.
The French magistrate’s case this week “consistent with the rising trend of wrench attacks,” Angela Ang, head of policy and strategic partnerships for Asia Pacific at TRM Labs, told Decrypt, adding that 2025 was a “record year” for such attacks with “roughly 60 reported physical assaults on crypto holders.”
“The rising use of crypto in kidnapping and extortion is reflective of the mainstream adoption of crypto and the perceived irreversibility and pseudonymity of crypto transactions,” she said. “Criminals are increasingly using social media to build detailed assessments of potential targets — particularly focusing on indicators of wealth,” she said. “Mitigating the risk of wrench attacks requires discretion, security, and awareness — on-chain, online, and offline.”
When asked whether crypto still makes kidnappings or extortion easier for criminals, CertiK said the risk is not unique to crypto.
The firm said the underlying threat, personal safety leading to financial loss, also applies to other incidents such as online banking, adding that crypto’s visibility may have helped normalize digital assets more broadly and, in turn, made “such risks more prominent”