Arrests over French cryptocurrency kidnapping plots

French police have arrested more than 20 people following a number of kidnapping plots targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and their families.

Authorities said the arrests were in connection with investigations into a recent abduction attempt in Nantes and the attempted kidnapping of a woman and child in Paris in May.

The incidents have raised concerns about the safety of those with cryptocurrency fortunes which could make them a target for criminals seeking ransom payments.

Earlier this month French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau vowed to bolster security around the country's crypto executives and their families.

A total of 24 people have been taken into custody.

The arrests were connected to an unsuccessful attempt by a masked gang to abduct the daughter and young grandson of a cryptocurrency chief in Paris on 13 May.

The pair were described by French media as relatives of Pierre Noizat, the co-founder of French Bitcoin exchange platform Paymium.

Arrests were also made over a kidnapping attempt against a person with ties to the crypto sector which was foiled by police in the Nantes region of western France on Monday, local media outlets reported.

Police intervened before the attack was carried out, police sources said.

Other incidents of kidnappings or attempted kidnappings have taken place across the country in recent months, including the case of the father of a cryptocurrency millionaire who was bundled into a van by men in balaclavas in Paris on 1 May.

Le Parisien newspaper said his kidnappers demanded his wealthy son pay a 5-7m euro ransom (£4.2-5.9m).

The victim had one finger missing when he was rescued by police days later in a house in Palaiseau, south of Paris, according to French media.

These incidents follow the kidnapping of David Balland, co-founder of the cryptocurrency firm Ledger, who was abducted with his wife at their home in central France in January.

The pair were rescued by police within days and Mr Balland also had a finger cut off, French media reported.

The criminals had demanded a 10m euro ransom (£8.5m). Six men and a woman were previously arrested in connection with that case.

In response to the spate of attacks against those with links to the cryptocurrency sector, Retailleau held an emergency meeting with industry leaders in mid-May.

In the meeting, he promised the "entire state apparatus" was "fully mobilised to track down the perpetrators and instigators of this violence and put them out of action", according to French media reports.