French court to rule on 25 suspects in crypto kidnapping attempts

Euronews

a day ago

Twenty-five individuals suspected of involvement in two kidnapping attempts earlier in May and targeted individuals tied to the cryptocurrency world are set to appear before a Paris court on Friday.
According to French media reports, magistrates are expected to decide whether or not to indict the suspects.
The suspects are suspected of involvement in the mid-May kidnapping attempt, which targeted the family of Pierre Noizat, the CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency platform Paymium.
The attack occurred in broad daylight in Paris' 11th arrondissement and sent shockwaves across France after a witness shared a video of the incident on social media.
The suspects' involvement in another kidnapping attempt, which was set be carried out in the city of Nantes, but was foiled on Monday, will also be determined.
Investigators are working to establish whether a single network could be behind the two separate kidnapping attempts.
In response to the increasing number of violent attacks against cryptocurrency professionals and in the aftermath of the attack targeting Noizat's family, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau convened an emergency meeting with industry leaders in mid-May.
During the meeting, Retailleau outlined ways of ensuring their security, including a plan to give them access to special emergency contact numbers.
"These serial kidnappings will be combated with specific tools, both immediate and short-term, to prevent, deter and hinder in order to protect the industry," Retailleau said after the meeting.
At least 11 people, including two children, have been injured in Ukraine after a wave of missile and drone strikes hit the city of Kharkiv and the nearby region, officials have said.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) reported widespread destruction and that shelling ignited a major fire at a municipal transport company. A building and a trolleybus were destroyed by fire.
The blaze extended to nearby vehicles and residential buildings, injuring three people, officials said.
The Chuhuiv district suffered extensive damage from a combination of missile and drone strikes. A private residence, farm structures, a warehouse and agricultural equipment were all hit, with eight people reportedly injured.
Also overnight, a series of Russian drone attacks on the Odesa region destroyed a branch of postal operator Nova Poshta, the SES said.
Nobody was injured in the attacks, which triggered a fire covering some 300 square metres and damaged a number of lorries within the facility. The fire has since been extinguished.
According to news reports, Nova Poshta is the country's largest private postal operator. One of the company's cargo facilities in the Odesa region was previously targeted by Russian attacks.
Ukraine says it repelled a total of 173 Russian attacks over multiple fronts in Russia's Kursk Oblast region overnight. The fiercest fighting was in Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian forces halted 66 assaults.
Russian strikes on Ukraine have intensified recently despite efforts towards peace talks between the two countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far refused to meet face-to-face with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and has rejected all ceasefire proposals.
After negotiations in Istanbul this month, each side released more than 1,000 prisoners — soldiers and civilians — in the biggest swap of the war and are set to meet again for peace talks next week.