The cofounder of French unicorn Ledger David Balland and his partner have been freed after being kidnapped and held to ransom in central France, according to a statement released by the Paris prosecutor’s office on Thursday.
Balland and his partner were kidnapped at their home on Tuesday morning in Vierzon, just over 100 miles south of Paris, and immediately separated, according to the statement. The kidnappers contacted “another cofounder of the company” and demanded the payment of a substantial ransom in cryptocurrencies.
On Wednesday, Balland was released and hospitalised due to a serious hand injury. On Thursday his partner, who was found tied up in a car in Étampes, south of Paris, was released as well. She did not have any physical injuries.
The releases were the result of extensive police work including the GIGN, France’s elite tactical police unit, said the statement.
France’s crypto unicorn
Ledger was founded in 2014 by Balland alongside seven other cofounders.
The company builds hardware wallets for crypto investors. In 2021, it reached a billion-dollar valuation when it raised a $380m Series C; the company also raised a €100m ($105m) extension to the Series C in 2023, which was reported to have maintained its valuation at €1.3bn ($1.36bn).
Balland is based in Vierzon, where Ledger opened a factory in 2019 to manufacture some of its wallets, but hasn’t been operational at the company since 2021.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said that as part of the negotiations carried out by the police, part of the ransom had been paid, but that “almost all of these cryptocurrencies have been traced, frozen and seized.”
Ten people were placed in police custody, according to the statement, most of whom were already known to the law. Three of them were released without charges on Friday.
A criminal investigation was also opened on Friday, with potential sentences of up to life in prison.
Balland’s cofounder Eric Larchevêque wrote in a LinkedIn post: “I am immensely relieved and profoundly happy to know that my friend and associate David, as well as his wife, have been released.”
“The investigation and police operations are still on-going and I unfortunately cannot share more details about this matter.”
Update, January 24, 2025: This article has been updated to clarify that David Balland is no longer operational at Ledger, and to add details about the opening of a criminal investigation.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/david-balland-released-ledger-news/
