Five men were indicted on Wednesday, May 7, and placed in pre -trial detention, suspected of being involved in the abduction, in the heart of Paris, of the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, who had been released after 58 hours of sequestration, announced the public prosecutor of Paris, Laure Beccuau. These five suspects are aged 18 to 26, she reported.
They are prosecuted for extortion in organized gang, kidnapping and forcible confinement with torture or barbarism act committed in an organized gang. The latter chief made them incur life -shaped criminal, said the prosecutor in his press release. They are also indicted for laundering in organized gang and association of criminals.
These suspects, “Born in Algeria, Reunion, Chesnay and Levallois, had already been sentenced, for acts of violence or extortion, or of a different nature”said Mme Beccuau. Some defense lawyers, joined by the France-Presse agency (AFP), did not follow up.
An “anthology” survey
The investigation started on Thursday May 1, after the kidnapping, in the street in the 14the Arrondissement of Paris, from the father of an entrepreneur who made a fortune in cryptocurrencies.
A hundred police officers from several judicial police services were mobilized to constitute a Task Force with the Brigade for the repression of banditry (BRB) in coordinating service, but also the criminal brigade, the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) and the Cybercrime (BL2C).
As in attacks, workshops were organized according to each other’s expertise, to process data (telephony, applications, cryptocurrencies). An investigation “Out of standard”d ‘“Anthology”underlined a source close to the file to AFP.
“Several million euros” claimed
These specialized investigators were indeed mobilized in a race against the clock: the family of the victim received ultimatums and threats of mutilation on the hostage. Man, retained under conditions “Extremely difficult”even had a cut finger, according to the near source.
“Several million euros” In the form of cryptocurrencies were claimed to the son, returned from Malta, who was assisted by police negotiators and psychologists during exchanges with the kidnappers, also reported on RTL Fabrice Gardon, director of the judicial police for the prefecture of police, on Monday.
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On Saturday evening, the assault was given in the pavilion that the investigators had managed to locate, in particular to avoid other mutilation. The injured victim was taken care of by the emergency services.
Five people were arrested during the intervention of the police, “In or near the accommodation”as well as “Two others the next day”detailed the prosecutor on Wednesday. At this stage of investigations, Fabrice Gardon rather puts them in the category of “Performants”. Among the people kept in police, two were then released and “Put out of the case, no sufficient link having been established with the Commission of the facts”added Laure Beccuau. The investigations are continuing, now entrusted to judges of investigation of the national jurisdiction to combat organized crime (Junalco).
A previous abduction in the cryptocurrency
This removal comes three and a half months after the abductor of the co -founder of Ledger, a company specializing in cryptoactives. On January 21, in the early morning, David Balland and his partner had been kidnapped at their home in Méreau (Cher).
The alert had been given by Eric Larchevêque, co -founder of Ledger, who had received a video of a cut finger from David Balland, accompanied by a major ransom request in cryptocurrencies. Releasing in Châteauroux, David Balland was released on January 22. His partner was found tied up in the trunk of a vehicle in Essonne the next day.
At least nine suspects have been indicted in this file, including the alleged sponsor.