French Crypto Executive Rescued After Harrowing Kidnapping Ordeal

David Balland was freed by French special forces after being abducted for ransom; his finger was severed during captivity.

David Balland, co-founder of crypto firm Ledger, and his wife were abducted from their home in Vierzon, France, with kidnappers demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom in cryptocurrency.
French elite police unit GIGN led a 230-person operation to track and rescue the couple, utilizing GPS tracking and online rental searches to locate the suspects.
Balland was found alive but injured in a remote house near Châteauroux, having been beaten and mutilated, while his wife was later rescued unharmed from a van in Étampes.
Authorities arrested 10 suspects, aged 20 to 40, and are investigating potential masterminds behind the organized crime, which reportedly involved drug dealers and young criminals from Paris suburbs.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency world, highlighting security risks as Ledger remains a leader in safeguarding digital assets with its hardware wallet technology.