One of the suspected masterminds behind a string of violent kidnappings in France of people linked to the cryptocurrency trade was detained Tuesday in Morocco, France’s justice minister said.
Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, a 24-year-old French-Moroccan citizen from just outside Paris, was wanted by France for several crimes, including armed extortion and kidnapping as part of a criminal gang, according to the “red notice” for him published by Interpol and Moroccan state media.
French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin thanked Morocco on X for detaining the man, citing the “excellent judicial cooperation” between the two countries.
Bajjou had “multiple bladed weapons of different sizes” in his possession when he was taken into custody, as well as “dozens of mobile phones and communication devices” and a sum of money allegedly related to criminal activities, Moroccan state media reported.
In January, David Balland, cofounder of a crypto wallet company, and his partner, were kidnapped in central France with their attackers cutting off one of Balland’s fingers as part of a 10-million euro ($11,430,000) ransom demand. The couple were later freed by elite French policemen, according to BFMTV.
Bajjou is also suspected of involvement in the May kidnapping of another man working in the crypto industry, who also had one of his fingers cut off before his release, per BFMTV.
Later that month, the daughter of the CEO of French cryptocurrency platform Paymium was saved by passers-by from a daylight kidnapping attempt in Paris, with Bajjou suspected to have been involved, BFMTV reported.
On May 30, 25 people aged between 16 and 23 were put under official investigation in Paris, suspected of involvement in a kidnapping in May in Paris and an attempted kidnapping in the western French city of Nantes.