French Minister Agrees on Measures to Protect Crypto Professionals After Kidnappings

French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau agreed on a series of measures to tighten the security of crypto professionals at a Friday meeting following a number of kidnappings that have targeted industry figures in the country.

Measures including strengthening collaboration with internal security officers to protect professionals, a security briefing provided by police units and training to prevent crypto money laundering were discussed at the meeting. The Director General of the National Police and Gendarmerie and representatives from the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) took part alongside other industry stakeholders.

The meeting was held after Tuesday’s failed kidnapping attempt on the daughter and grandson of a crypto exchange CEO, the third that’s received widespread coverage since the start of the year. In May the father of a French crypto millionaire was kidnapped, the BBC reported. And earlier in the year David Ballard, a co-founder of crypto-wallet developer Ledger was kidnapped alongside his wife. Both of the men had a finger severed.

“I wanted to reiterate my shock at the seriousness of the criminal acts that were committed and my determination to put an end to these unbearable attacks targeting crypto-asset professionals, just as they attacked banks and jewelry stores yesterday,” Retailleau said.