Family held hostage in Vendin-le-Vieil for €40,000 in cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency entrepreneur, his wife and their two children were held hostage at their home in Pas-de-Calais. The abductors extorted approximately €40,000 in digital currency.
Nighttime hostage-taking in Pas-de-Calais: entrepreneur forced to transfer €40,000 in cryptocurrency
Four masked and gloved individuals broke into a house in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) around 4 a.m. on the night of Saturday to Sunday, according to lefigaro.fr, which confirms information from La Voix du Nord. Their target: an entrepreneur active in the cryptocurrency sector.
Armed with a knife and an iron bar, the attackers forced the front door before holding the man, his wife and their two children, aged 8 and 12, hostage for nearly two hours. According to a source close to the case cited by lefigaro.fr, the woman and children were taken to a bedroom under the watch of one of the perpetrators. The father, isolated in another room, received "a few blows" and was threatened with violence if he did not provide the access codes to his accounts.
The victim eventually gave in and made a transfer. "Something like €40,000", the same source specifies. The individuals fled shortly after 5:30 a.m. The entrepreneur managed to free himself from his restraints, liberate his family and alert the emergency services. The fire service took charge of the family, in a state of shock, around 7 a.m. An examination by a medical examiner is planned.
According to information from Le Parisien, the four abductors were reportedly "in constant communication by telephone" with a third party throughout the hostage-taking. They reportedly spoke "in Arabic so as not to be understood" by the victims. The public prosecutor for Béthune had not responded to requests from Le Figaro at the time of publication.
An investigation was opened for unlawful confinement and extortion by an organised gang. It was assigned to the inter-departmental services of the judicial police in Pas-de-Calais and Nord, as well as the French cybercrime office (OFAC). The local branch of the France Victimes association was contacted to support the family.
This incident is part of a worrying trend. At the end of June, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced measures to strengthen security for sector players, who are particularly targeted by criminal networks: 77 cases had already been recorded in the first six months of the year, a sharp increase compared to 2025. Between July 2023 and the end of March 2026, police and gendarmerie services had recorded 131 "crypto-kidnappings" across the country. In 2025, 67 cases were registered, compared to 18 the previous year. Since 1 January, more than sixty cases have been recorded.
"This is an emerging form of crime that is increasing at an alarming rate", stated Vanessa Perrée, prosecutor for the National Office for Organised Crime (PNACO), on 6 April in the columns of Le Figaro. She added: "What is striking is that this is a rather Franco-French phenomenon: it is not observed in the same proportions in Belgium, Germany or Italy, according to our partners and investigators, without us yet understanding precisely the reasons."
Source: Google News LU FR