French crypto kidnapping investigation reveals cross-border money laundering network: ransom flows to Venezuelan wallets According to BlockBeats, on May 30th, the French newspaper Le Monde revealed new progress in the investigation of a cryptocurrency related kidnapping case that occurred in 2023. French law enforcement agencies have discovered a cross-border money laundering network involving multiple countries and cryptocurrency wallets while investigating the flow of a 1.7 million euro cryptocurrency ransom. In the case, the kidnapped person is the father of the well-known encrypted gambling internet celebrity "TeufeurS". The kidnappers threatened the victim's family through text messages and demanded payment of ransom in cryptocurrency. In the end, TeufeurS transferred a total of 1.7 million euros to the kidnappers' designated wallet twice, and his father was subsequently released. The investigation shows that some of the ransom was transferred through multiple layers and flowed into wallet accounts controlled by foreign citizens. One of the $131000 funds was successfully traced by French military police, and the clues ultimately pointed to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by Venezuelan nationals. The case further reveals the complex chain of criminal organizations using cross-border encrypted asset transfers, anonymous wallets, and overseas platforms for money laundering. According to reports, this case is considered one of the important cases of kidnapping and extortion in the European cryptocurrency industry, and may also become an early model for many kidnapping cases targeting cryptocurrency practitioners in France and Europe in 2025. [Original link]