Suspected mastermind of French crypto kidnappings held in Morocco
A 24-year-old Franco-Moroccan man suspected of masterminding a series of kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in France has been arrested in Morocco, France said.
Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou was wanted by the French authorities and was the subject of an Interpol red notice for "arrest, kidnapping, false imprisonment or arbitrary detention of a hostage."
The suspect was arrested in the northern Moroccan city of Tangier, according to a statement from the country's General Directorate for National Security carried by Moroccan state news agency MAP.
France has been shaken by a series of kidnappings and attempted abductions targeting cryptocurrency bosses and their families in recent months, prompting one prominent crypto entrepreneur to call on authorities to "stop the Mexicanisation" of the country.
"I sincerely thank Morocco for this arrest, which demonstrates excellent judicial cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the fight against organised crime," French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on X.
A native of Le Chesnay west of Paris, Bajjou is suspected of being one of the masterminds behind the high-profile kidnapping in January of French crypto boss David Balland and his partner, according to French daily Le Parisien.
Balland co-founded the crypto firm Ledger, valued at the time at more than $1 billion. Balland's finger was cut off by his kidnappers, who demanded a hefty ransom.
Last week French authorities charged 25 people, including six minors, over the series of kidnappings and attempted abductions.
The crimes have become a major embarrassment for the French government and have sparked concern about the security of wealthy crypto tycoons, who have notched up immense fortunes from the booming business.
In May, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau held an emergency meeting with cryptocurrency leaders, with the ministry announcing plans to bolster their security.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
France opens 'complicity in genocide' probes over blocked Gaza aid
French anti-terror prosecutors have opened probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide" after French-Israelis allegedly blocked aid intended for war-torn Gaza last year, they said on Friday. The two investigations, opened after legal complaints, were also to look into possible "complicity in crimes against humanity" between January and May 2024, the anti-terror prosecutor's office (PNAT) said. They are the first known probes in France to be looking into alleged violations of international law in Gaza, several sources with knowledge of the cases told AFP. In a separate case made public on the same day, the grandmother of two children with French nationality who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder", her lawyer said. The French judiciary has jurisdiction when French citizens are involved in such cases. Rights groups, lawyers and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. The French probes were opened after two separate legal complaints. In the first, the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim filed a complaint in November targeting alleged French members of hardline pro-Israel groups "Israel is forever" and "Tzav-9". It accused them of "physically" preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Damia Taharraoui and Marion Lafouge, told AFP they were happy a probe had been launched into the events in January 2024 -- "a time when no-one wanted to hear anything about genocide". A source close to the case said prosecutors last month urged the investigation in relation to events at the Nitzana crossing point between Egypt and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. Around that time, hardline Israeli protesters -- including friends and relatives of hostages held in Gaza -- blocked aid lorries from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom. A second complaint from a group called the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (CAPJO) accused members of "Israel is forever" of having blocked aid trucks. It used photos, videos and public statements to back up its complaint. - 'Genocide' complaint - No court has so far concluded that the ongoing conflict is a genocide. But in rulings in January, March and May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial organ, told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including through allowing in urgently needed aid. In the separate case, Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of six- and nine-year-old children killed in an Israeli strike, filed her complaint accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder" with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said. Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the military. The complaint states that an Israeli missile strike killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023. "We believe these children are dead as part of a deliberate organised policy targeting the whole of Gaza's population with a possible genocidal intent," Alimi said. The children's brother Omar, now five, was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z., the complaint said. A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a "terrorist" group over giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. - Famine warnings - Israel said last month it was easing the complete blockade of Gaza it imposed on March 2 but on May 30 the United Nations said the territory's entire population of more than two million people remained at risk of famine. A US-backed aid group last week began distributions but reports that the Israeli military shot dead dozens of Palestinians trying to collect food has sparked widespread condemnation. The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, citing concerns that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. A total of 1,218 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory war on Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif over similar allegations linked to the October 7 attack but the case against him was dropped in February after confirmation Israel had killed him.
News.com.au
12 hours ago
- News.com.au
New Europe push to curb children's social media use
From dangerous diet tips to disinformation, cyberbullying to hate speech, the glut of online content harmful to children grows every day. But several European countries have had enough and now want to limit minors' access to social media. The European Union already has some of the world's most stringent digital rules to rein in Big Tech, with multiple probes ongoing into how platforms protect children -- or not. There are now demands for the EU to go further as a rising body of evidence shows the negative effects of social media on children's mental and physical health. Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children's use of online platforms as fears mount over their addictive nature. They will present the plan on Friday to EU counterparts in Luxembourg "so that Europe can take the appropriate action as soon as possible", Greek Digital Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said. The proposal includes setting an age of digital adulthood across the 27-country EU, meaning children will not be able to access social media without parental consent. Since the proposal was published last month, other countries have expressed support including Cyprus and Denmark -- which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July. Danish officials say the issue will be a priority during their six-month presidency. France has led the way in cracking down on platforms, passing a 2023 law requiring them to obtain parental consent for users under the age of 15. But the measure has not received the EU green light it needs to come into force. France also gradually introduced requirements this year for all adult websites to have users confirm their age to prevent children accessing porn -- with three major platforms going dark this week in anger over the move. Also under pressure from the French government, TikTok on Sunday banned the "#SkinnyTok" hashtag, part of a trend promoting extreme thinness on the platform. - Real age verification - Greece says its aim is to protect children from the risks of excessive internet use. The proposal does not say at what age digital adulthood should begin but Papastergiou said platforms should know users' real ages "so as not to serve inappropriate content to minors". France, Greece and Spain expressed concern about the algorithmic design of digital platforms increasing children's exposure to addictive and harmful content -- with the risk of worsening anxiety, depression and self-esteem issues. The proposal also blames excessive screen time at a young age for hindering the development of minors' critical and relationship skills. They demand "an EU-wide application that supports parental control mechanisms, allows for proper age verification and limits the use of certain applications by minors". The goal would be for devices such as smartphones to have in-built age verification. The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, wants to launch an age-verification app next month, insisting it can be done without disclosing personal details. The EU last month published draft guidelines for platforms to protect minors, to be finalised once a public consultation ends this month, including setting children's accounts to private by default, and making it easier to block and mute users. Those guidelines are non-binding, but the bloc is clamping down in other ways. - EU investigations - It is currently investigating Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok under its mammoth content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), fearing the platforms are failing to do enough to prevent children accessing harmful content. In the Meta probe, the EU fears the platform's age-verification tools may not be effective. And last week, it launched an investigation into four pornographic platforms over suspicions they are failing to stop children accessing adult content. Separately, the EU has been in long-running negotiations on a law to combat child sexual abuse material, but the proposal has been mired in uncertainty, with worries from some countries that it would allow authorities to access encrypted communications. The legal proposal has pitted proponents of privacy against those working to protect children -- and despite repeated attempts, it has failed to get EU states' approval. raz/ec/phz
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
TotalEnergies on trial in landmark greenwashing case in France
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies goes on trial in Paris on Thursday over allegations of misleading climate claims, an unprecedented "greenwashing" case against a fossil fuel firm in France. The civil case stems from a March 2022 lawsuit by three environmental groups accusing the French energy giant of "misleading commercial practices" for saying it could reach carbon neutrality while continuing oil and gas production. Starting in May 2021, TotalEnergies advertised its goal of "carbon neutrality by 2050" and touted gas as "the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions". At the time, the company had also changed its name from Total to TotalEnergies to emphasise its investments in low-carbon energy, such as electricity. The plaintiffs have logged around 40 "false advertisements" in their lawsuit. The ads "don't sincerely reflect the reality of TotalEnergies' operations", Apolline Cagnat, a legal counsel at Greenpeace, told AFP. Cagnat said the NGOs want the court to send a "strong signal" to fossil fuel companies by ordering "an immediate stop, under penalty, of the misleading commercial practices". TotalEnergies disputes the charges, insisting the messages are part of its institutional communication, regulated by financial authorities -- not consumer law. It argues no consumer organisation is party to the case, and that the NGOs are misusing consumer protection rules to challenge its corporate strategy. Environmental groups in recent years have turned to the courts to establish case law on companies misleading consumers by appearing more eco-friendly than they are. In Europe, courts ruled against Dutch airline KLM in 2024 and Germany's Lufthansa in March over misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. In Spain, utility Iberdrola failed to secure a conviction against Spanish oil and gas company Repsol over similar allegations of "false" environmental claims. A greenwashing case against Australian oil and gas producer Santos, challenging its claim to be a "clean fuels" company, has been ongoing since 2021. Based on a European Union directive targeting unfair commercial practices, the TotalEnergies lawsuit is the first time a French court has heard such a case against a fossil fuel company. The NGOs said the Paris court will rule, for the first time in the world, on the legality of ads presenting gas as essential to the energy transition. Climate experts say methane leaks from the gas industry have a powerful warming effect on the atmosphere. TotalEnergies maintains it has not engaged in misleading commercial practices. The company says it plans to show that its messages "about its name change, strategy and role in the energy transition are reliable and based on objective, verifiable data". nal/ak/lth/gil
