Cryptocurrency kidnappings in France: masterminds abroad, executors recruited on Telegram
A mother and son abducted in the Yonne in April, six suspects aged 17 to 20 arrested: France Info reveals the workings of a criminal network orchestrated from Morocco.
Crypto-kidnappings: anatomy of an abduction orchestrated from Tangier
A GIGN intervention at dawn at a hotel in Boissy-Saint-Léger, in Val-de-Marne: this is how a twenty-four-hour hostage-taking linked to cryptocurrencies ended in April. France Info, in partnership with the "20 Heures" news programme on France 2, reveals on 20 May the details of this case through exclusive documents, and examines the escalating violence of this type of abduction.
The target of the abductors was Franck T., a former mason converted to cryptocurrency, based in Quarré-les-Tombes, a village in the Yonne. "I was a self-employed mason. Two years ago, I got into cryptocurrency. I now live off my cryptocurrency income," he told investigators. His discretion was not enough to protect him.
Morning of 13 April: irruption at the family home
On the morning of 13 April, six masked and armed individuals burst into the family home. The father is neutralised on the spot. The assailants demand 400,000 dollars in cryptocurrency, but the funds are not immediately available. Faced with this obstacle, they decide to abduct the entrepreneur's mother and son, an 11-year-old child, and flee by car.
Two hours later, on the motorway, the vehicle—borrowed from the mother of one of the suspects—runs out of petrol. The group calls a breakdown service, which takes them to a petrol station. CCTV footage obtained by investigators shows one of the abductors in a high-visibility vest, accompanied by the child to the till. The mother is locked in the vehicle's boot.
Amateurs controlled from afar
Two hundred kilometres further on, the abductors lock the mother and child in a hotel room. The father receives a photo of his loved ones, accompanied by the message: "Don't worry, they're fine." It is precisely this telephone number used to send this message that allows investigators to identify the suspects.
According to Sarah Mauger-Poliak, lawyer for one of them, the group is far from constituting an experienced organisation: "We are very far from seasoned professionals of serious crime. In reality, these are amateurs, very young people, who will obey more or less fluctuating directives given to them. One attempts to adapt to completely unforeseen situations, and obviously, one adapts very poorly, one does things very badly."
The six executors, aged 17 to 20, were recruited on social media. One of them specified the conditions of his recruitment: "I was recruited through an advertisement on a Telegram group called 'Work to Earn Money'. The person who proposed the mission called himself 'Pur-Sang'." None of the suspects ever met this order-giver in person.
The mastermind located in Tangier
The mastermind was located in Tangier, Morocco, operating under the pseudonym "Pur-Sang". Identifying the actual person behind this name remains, at this stage, a difficulty for investigators.
The question of how the target was designated from abroad is answered by data breaches. According to information gathered, the name Franck T. appeared in several breaches from cryptocurrency platforms. Gérome Billois, a cybersecurity expert, describes the mechanism used by these networks: "Cryptocurrency information is ultimately quite visible on the internet. We will know the amount on such and such an account. What we do not know is the identity of the person associated with this account. But by cross-referencing, by using a previous breach, by looking at what is happening on social media, criminal groups manage to piece this information back together."
Six charged, offences liable to life imprisonment
The six suspects were remanded in custody and charged with abduction and unlawful imprisonment as part of an organised gang, as well as theft and extortion with a weapon. These charges are liable to life imprisonment.
The case illustrates, according to France Info, a broader trend: the number of kidnappings linked to cryptocurrencies is increasing, and their degree of violence is growing. The masterminds, based outside France, rely on young, inexperienced criminal executors, recruited via open digital channels, to carry out high-risk, improvised operations.
Source: France Info