French police rescue co-founder of €1.3bn crypto startup Ledger after kidnapping

French gendarmes stand alert on a street in Mereau, near Vierzon, central France on January 23, 2025, as they secure the area following the kidnapping of David Ballard - the co-founder of a company specialising in securing cryptoassets. The co-founder of a company specialising in securing cryptoassets, who was kidnapped on January 21, in France's Cher department for ransom, was released by the gendarmerie on January 22, the Paris public prosecutor's office, which is leading the investigation said. David Balland, a partner and co-founder of Ledger, was kidnapped from his home in the early hours of January 22, he was then held 'at another address', the public prosecutor's office said. (Credit: TOM MASSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The co-founder of French crypto unicorn Ledger and his wife have been rescued after an outlandish Parisian kidnapping attempt resulted in 10 arrests.

David Balland and his wife were abducted in the early hours of Tuesday morning, they were separated and taken to different locations, according to Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

The kidnappers made contact with another co-founder of Ledger, demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency, part of which was paid to the assailants.

The GIGN, a special division of the French Gendarmerie military police, was enlisted to negotiate with the attackers, before tracking Balland’s location. 

Police were able to recover Balland, while his wife was found hours later tied up in a van.

Almost all of the cryptocurrency used to pay part of the ransom has been traced, frozen, and seized.

Balland was hospitalized owing to a wound on his hand, Beccuau said, while his wife didn’t sustain physical injuries but will be monitored by medical staff owing to trauma. 

The Parisian prosecutor said 10 people—nine men and one woman aged between 20 and 40—had been taken into custody relating to the kidnapping. Most were already known to police, she said.

Beccuau told media that the exchanging of a ransom, in addition to torture carried out during the kidnapping, dictates life imprisonment if those arrested are found guilty.

A representative for Ledger didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment. However, Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier told the media: “We are deeply relieved that David and his wife have been released, and are now safe.”

“We’re grateful to law enforcement for their swift action,” he added, saying it was “a traumatic situation that we hope will never be repeated”.

Ledger was founded in 2014 and now employs more than 600 people across the globe. The group designs hardware that safely stores customers’ cryptocurrencies in a USB-style wallet. The company was valued at €1.3 billion in March 2023. Ledger recruited Apple’s iPod inventor, Tony Fadell, to join its board in November.

Balland and his wife’s kidnapping comes at a time when executive safety is firmly in the limelight, following the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Murphy in December.

The kidnapping is also the latest in a spate of abductions linked to cryptocurrency.In November, Dean Skurka, the head of Canada’s largest crypto company, WonderFi, was kidnapped in Toronto by assailants demanding $1 million Canadian dollars in ransom. Skurka was dropped off on the side of a street after the ransom was paid.