Police arrest suspect in Ledger founder kidnapping case one year after horrific attack

The police’s crackdown on violent efforts to force crypto owners to hand over their coins has led officers to arrest a man in connection with the January 2025 attack on David Balland, the co-founder of Ledger.

Officers say the unnamed suspect had fled to Spain, with Spanish and French police teaming up for a manhunt that lasted several weeks.

“We deployed a large contingent of police officers to conduct this arrest, as this was a dangerous individual,” the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement, reported French newspaper Le Parisien. “There was also a possibility that the criminal organisation the suspect belongs to might try to help [him] escape.”

So-called wrench attacks are on the rise in France, where gangs have recently targeted high-profile targets like the Binance France CEO David Prinçay and the families of industry workers and influencers. But police are fighting back, making a string of arrests nationwide.

Court extradition order

The Civil Guard said this arrest means the French authorities have now “identified and arrested all the members” of the gang they think kidnapped Balland and his partner in central France last year.

The gang reportedly cut off one of Balland’s fingers as part of their attempts to force him or his acquaintances to hand over Bitcoin funds worth $11.5 million.

Balland and his partner were held for several hours at different locations as police tried to track the group down.

Law enforcement agencies succeeded in finding the duo, rescuing both Balland and his partner, and arresting 10 people at the suspected crime scenes.

At least one man — the latest arrestee — fled the scene and crossed the border into Spain, the Civil Guard said.

Police said the man first headed to the Valencia region, where officers said he stayed in a rented apartment with his partner and a friend. An unnamed “fourth person” paid for this accommodation, detectives said.

The trio then moved on to Seville and then Cadiz, in the Andalusia region, before finally moving to a property somewhere between Marbella and Malaga, in the municipality of Benalmadena.

The Civil Guard said a court in Fuengirola is arranging an extradition order at a French judge’s request.

Extraditions between Spain and France are highly streamlined processes, with courts leveraging the EU’s European Arrest Warrant protocol.

The protocol allows nations’ courts to work together directly, without the need to involve embassies and other political organs.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.