France: 10 arrested for kidnapping crypto company's co-founder

French police arrested 10 suspects linked to the kidnapping and torture of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his partner

French police have arrested 10 people suspected of involvement in the kidnapping and torture of the co-founder of a global crypto currency company and his partner, prosecutors said, with the case to be handed to anti-gang investigators Friday.

French gendarmes stand alert on a street in Mereau, near Vierzon, central France on January 23, 2025, as they secure the area following the kidnapping of David Ballard - the co-founder of a company specialising in securing cryptoassets.(AFP)

The suspects -- nine men and one woman -- were taken into custody late Thursday. Three of them were arrested in the city of Chateauroux in central France, and three in Etampes in the Paris region.

David Balland, a co-founder and former employee of Ledger -- a world leader in security systems for crypto and digital assets -- and his partner were taken from his home in Mereau in the Loire region early Tuesday, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told reporters.

Another Ledger co-founder, Eric Larcheveque, alerted police to the kidnapping after receiving a video showing a mutilated finger belonging to Balland, and a ransom demand, a source close to the case said.

The kidnappers asked for "a large crypto currency sum", Beccuau said, without saying how large.

Part of the sum was handed over as part of negotiations handled by police, but most of the crypto assets were seized and frozen, she said.

Police located and freed Balland on Wednesday, and he was taken to hospital for treatment of his injury.

His partner, who had been taken to a different location by the presumed kidnappers, was found tied up in a car.

Most of the suspects were already known to police for past criminal activities, but none had previously been involved in gang-related crime, the prosecutor added.

Police are probing the case with a view to potentially bringing charges for gang-related kidnapping, acts of torture and armed extortion, Beccuau said.

The prosecutor declined to be drawn on the possible existence of a foreign-based mastermind behind the kidnapping, saying that police were seeking to "identify everybody involved".

Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier said he was "deeply relieved that David and his wife have been freed and are now in safety".

A total of 230 police and gendarmes and police were involved in the operation, including the GIGN elite tactical unit specialising in hostage situations, and crypto currency experts.

Founded in 2014, French company Ledger is a so-called "unicorn" -- a privately held startup worth more than $1 billion -- and world leader in digital wallets and vaults to safeguard crypto assets.

Prosecutors said they were not currently linking the kidnapping to a case earlier this month when a 56-year-old man, reported to be the father of a crypto currency influencer based in Dubai, was found in the boot of a car.

A ransom demand was made for the man, whose son is known for posting videos about his crypto profits online, media reported.

Crypto currencies are digital units, designed and managed through a decentralised system of computer networks without the intervention of any central authority, unlike traditional currencies which are usually run by central banks.

Traded crypto assets, such as bitcoin, have been highly volatile, sometimes generating dizzying gains for investors, but often also spectacular losses.