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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Crime & Justice

France: Kidnapping probe links crypto ransom to Venezuela

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • French authorities are investigating a kidnapping case linked to cryptocurrency, involving a ransom paid to a Venezuelan woman's digital wallet.
  • The investigation connects the kidnapping of a businessman's father in France to a series of crypto-related abductions in 2025.
  • Investigators traced $131,002 of the ransom money, which was part of a 1.7 million euro payment, to a new cryptocurrency wallet.

French authorities are unraveling a complex criminal case that links a kidnapping in France to cryptocurrency transactions in Venezuela, potentially shedding light on a wave of abductions targeting the crypto sector. The investigation centers on the ransom paid for the father of a cryptocurrency influencer, which was allegedly funneled through digital wallets.

The case began on August 24, 2023, when the 60-year-old father of a social media influencer, known online as TeufeurS, was abducted from a village in France's Loire Valley. The kidnappers demanded a substantial ransom, threatening to harm the victim if their demands were not met. TeufeurS, who made his fortune through online gambling, transferred a total of 1.7 million euros (approximately $2 million) in two installments to cryptocurrency wallets provided by the criminals.

In 5 min, a finger will be gone. Tic toc.

— Kidnappers' text messageA threat made to the victim's son during the kidnapping.

Following the payment, the victim was found unharmed on a rural road. However, the investigation by the French gendarmerie continued, focusing on tracing the ransom money. While many transfers went to difficult-to-track accounts, investigators successfully isolated and followed a sum of $131,002, which had been divided into three transfers to a newly created cryptocurrency wallet.

This case has drawn parallels to a series of crypto-related kidnappings that reportedly caused panic among entrepreneurs in the sector in 2025. The intricate financial channels used by criminal networks to launder illicit gains are a key focus of the ongoing investigation, which involves international cooperation.

The gendarmes did manage to isolate and follow the trail of $131,002, which had been divided into three transfers to a completely new wallet.

— Le Monde (via Armando.info)Detailing a key breakthrough in tracing the ransom money.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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