French Minister Agrees on Measures to Protect Crypto Professionals After Kidnappings

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By Camomile Shumba|Edited by Sheldon Reback

May 16, 2025, 4:05 p.m.

Two men in uniform carrying submachine guns and other arms stand outside an iron gate.
  • French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau agreed on a series of measures to tighten the security of crypto professionals at a Friday meeting.
  • The meeting was held after Tuesday’s failed attempt to kidnap the daughter and grandson of a crypto exchange CEO and two successful kidnappings earlier in the year.

French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau agreed on a series of measures to tighten the security of crypto professionals at a Friday meeting following a number of kidnappings that have targeted industry figures in the country.

Measures including strengthening collaboration with internal security officers to protect professionals, a security briefing provided by police units and training to prevent crypto money laundering were discussed at the meeting. The Director General of the National Police and Gendarmerie and representatives from the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) took part alongside other industry stakeholders.

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The meeting was held after Tuesday’s failed kidnapping attempt on the daughter and grandson of a crypto exchange CEO, the third that’s received widespread coverage since the start of the year. In May the father of a French crypto millionaire was kidnapped, the BBC reported. And earlier in the year David Ballard, a co-founder of crypto-wallet developer Ledger was kidnapped alongside his wife. Both of the men had a finger severed.

“I wanted to reiterate my shock at the seriousness of the criminal acts that were committed and my determination to put an end to these unbearable attacks targeting crypto-asset professionals, just as they attacked banks and jewelry stores yesterday,” Retailleau said.

Read more: Crypto Exchange CEO’s Daughter, Grandson Targeted in Paris Kidnap Attempt

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner.

Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

Camomile Shumba

 

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