Ledger founder kidnapped for 48 hours》David Balland and his wife rescued! 10 suspects arrested, encryption ransom frozen

According to a report by The Straits Times late yesterday (24th), David Balland, co-founder of the cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger, and his wife, who were kidnapped on January 21, have been rescued. Although they paid a ransom to the kidnappers, part of the encryption ransom has been tracked and frozen by relevant departments.
(Preliminary summary: The founder of cold wallet Ledger was kidnapped and asked for Bitcoin ransom? Some communities refuted the rumors, but I did not respond)
(Background supplement: The CEO of Canadian encryption company WonderFi was kidnapped! He paid a million dollars in ransom before being released. How can crypto people protect themselves?)

Earlier this week, multiple foreign media reported that David Balland, co-founder of the French cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger, and his wife, Kidnapped on January 21 in central France.

Fortunately, however, "The Straits Times" reported late yesterday (24th) that David Balland and his wife have been rescued. Although they paid the kidnappers a cryptocurrency ransom, part of the cryptocurrency ransom has been tracked and frozen by relevant departments.

The whole process of the Balland couple’s kidnapping

It is understood that the entire process of the Balland couple’s kidnapping is roughly as follows:

• On January 21, the Balland couple were kidnapped at their home in central France and were taken to different locations;
• After the kidnappers carried out the kidnapping, they contacted Ledger Another co-founder of the company and demanded a ransom, part of which he paid in cryptocurrency;
• After the intervention of the French Gendarmerie special force GIGN, Balland himself was successfully rescued on January 22, and his wife was also found the next day.

However, Balland suffered an injury to his hand during the kidnapping and is currently hospitalized for treatment. Although his wife was not physically injured, she is also receiving psychological monitoring.

In the end, French police arrested 10 suspects, with an average age of about 20 to 40 years old, most of whom had criminal records. Currently, law enforcement agencies are conducting detailed interviews with these 10 people. If they are ultimately convicted, the most serious sentence waiting for them will be life imprisonment.

In addition, the relevant authorities have also tracked the address and whereabouts of the ransom paid in cryptocurrency, and have taken timely freezing measures.

Changpeng Zhao: Relevant tweets have been deleted

In response, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also posted on social platform The story of the co-founder and his wife who were kidnapped in France.

Thank God they are safe now. It must have been a horrific experience and I have since deleted the tweets I sent about it because someone in the know asked me to do so. I think his wife had not been rescued at that time and the negotiations were probably still at a very tense stage.

Stay safe!

The story of Ledger co-founder and his wife kidnapped in Paris, France.

Thank god they are safe now. It must have been a horrible experience. I deleted my previous post because someone close to the matter asked me to. I guess at that time, his wife was not free yet, and…

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) January 24, 2025