Three attackers wearing fake police uniforms identified themselves as officers carrying out a raid before barging into a home in a western suburb of Paris, where they beat a couple in their late 50s and tied up the husband with rope. The assailants forced the victims to transfer cryptocurrency. The woman freed her husband and alerted neighbors, who called the police after the attackers left the scene in a white van. The incident ended around 9 a.m. local time when the injured woman managed to free her husband and contact neighbors for assistance.
No arrests have been made following the incident in Yvelines on Monday, with the case being investigated by the Banditry Repression Brigade (BRB), an antigang unit of French police. An urgent investigation has been launched into the hostage incident involving fake police in Paris, with the woman suffering a shoulder injury during the ordeal. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the destination wallet involved in Monday’s bitcoin transfer. The case is being investigated as kidnapping, armed robbery carried out by an organized group, and criminal conspiracy.
I want to warn people that there is an organised campaign targeting crypto figures and urge increased vigilance.
In a similar case, Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, his wife Sarah, and their two children were tied up and robbed at knifepoint by thieves demanding cryptocurrency at their home in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on April 2. The suspects demanded the keycode to Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie's electronic wallet but left without digital currency, trashing the home and stealing cash, silver, and jewellery. Thames Valley Police said thieves broke into the home at around 10pm while the homeowners were in the kitchen, with some suspects wearing gloves and face coverings. Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie does not have cryptocurrency, so the thieves made off without any digital currency.
No arrests have been made in the Maidenhead incident, with detectives describing the suspects as a black man in his mid-20s, a black male in his late teens, an Asian man in his late 20s or early 30s, and a black man in his early 30s. The cases highlight a troubling trend in which criminals increasingly target individuals believed to control digital assets, attempting to extract cryptocurrency through coercion, kidnapping, or home invasion.
The men were only after crypto and had no interest in my Aston Martin car.
Incidents involving cryptocurrency-related kidnappings have increased a great deal since early 2025. 'Wrench attacks' targeting wealthy cryptocurrency owners increased by 75% last year to 72 verified cases worldwide, according to cybersecurity platform CertiK. France had the highest number of recorded wrench attacks at 19, with Europe making up around 40% of all reports.
A previous high-profile case involved David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, who was kidnapped in 2025, held for two days in a Paris flat with his wife, had his finger cut off, and was freed after a police raid. French tactical units later rescued Balland during a GIGN assault operation, while his wife was freed in a separate rescue effort by gendarmes.
Other recent cases include one in Lyon last month where six people were arrested after a court magistrate and her mother were held captive for around 30 hours in a ransom plot. Another case unfolded on May 1 in central Paris when four masked men abducted the father of a man known to have accumulated significant cryptocurrency wealth. Police ultimately located and freed the victim after the kidnappers demanded several million euros in cryptocurrency as ransom.
Key unknowns persist in these investigations, including what the destination wallet address is for the bitcoin transferred in the Paris incident and whether authorities have traced it. Additionally, the current condition and medical status of the injured woman from the Paris incident have not been disclosed, leaving her recovery unclear. The investigation details and potential connections between the Paris and Maidenhead cases remain undisclosed, as do specific security measures being implemented to protect cryptocurrency owners from such attacks.