Crypto kings are a lucrative new target for Paris ransom gangs
As video circulated online of armed gangsters trying to drag a woman and her two-year-old child into the back of a van in broad daylight in the middle of Paris, many watched in shock and horror. But for Pierre Noizat, an outlandish abduction attempt was something he had long feared.
“This is only the beginning if we do nothing,” said Noizat, the victim’s father and chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange Paymium.
The attempt to kidnap his daughter and grandson this week, which failed when her husband saw off the attackers, was the latest in a string of abductions targeting those who make money in crypto. They have spooked wealthy individuals operating in France where, as Noizat said, such kidnappings now feel likely.
“One
