Article
[A French crypto industry professional's entire family was held hostage; approximately 46000 USD in cryptocurrency was transferred]
A family in the northern French town of Vendin-le-Vieil was taken hostage by masked men early Sunday morning. According to BFMTV reports, the suspects entered the home at around 4 a.m., bound the couple and their children with tape, and remained there for more than hours. 40-year-old father worked in the local crypto industry as a IT expert. He was taken alone to another room, beaten, and forced to provide access codes, resulting in approximately 40000 EUR(approximately 46000 USD) in cryptocurrency being transferred. According to the Béthune prosecutor's office, the suspects fled by car after the crime and remain at large. 12-year-old daughter was struck in the face with car keys during the incident. The victims are in shock, have been referred for forensic examination, and are receiving support from a victim assistance association. The case has been opened as kidnapping and extortion by an organized gang, with a joint investigation by the regional judicial police and France's cybercrime office. France is the country most severely affected globally by such “wrench attacks.” Records from the National Jurisdiction for Combating Organized Crime show that 2026 years ago, 8 months saw more than 70 cryptocurrency-related kidnappings and unlawful detention cases, while 88 people were charged in a crackdown earlier this year. Previous similar cases have largely targeted prominent wealthy individuals, including the father of a crypto millionaire, the wife of a The Sandbox co-founder, and the CEO of Binance France, whereas the victim in this case was merely an ordinary IT crypto industry professional. Chainalysis statistics show that 2026 global wrench attacks caused approximately 30000000 USD in losses, while CertiK stated that losses over 6 months reached 124000000 USD, an increase of 12 times.
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