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Four Arrested in Marseille Crypto Hostage Case
Four men arrested in Marseille for holding two women hostage for crypto wallets. First such case in the region, police say.
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Four men were arrested in the Marseille region over the weekend on suspicion of holding two women hostage while demanding access to their cryptocurrency wallets. Local newspaper La Provence reported that the case is the first known crypto-related hostage situation in that part of France.
Police freed the two women during an operation, according to the newspaper. The suspects, who have not been publicly named, allegedly forced the victims to transfer funds from digital wallets before officers intervened. The newspaper said the operation lasted several hours and ended without injuries.
The Marseille case adds to a pattern of physical attacks on crypto holders in France. The country's implementation of the EU's DAC8 directive, which centralizes crypto transaction data, has drawn criticism from privacy advocates and security experts. The centralization creates a record that criminals could potentially use to identify and target holders, as previously reported on AlphaScala.