French-Moroccan man sentenced to 25 years in prison for France crypto kidnaps

A French-Moroccan man convicted of organizing some of the recent daring kidnappings of crypto figures in France has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The news comes amid a growing debate in French society over the massive number of data leaks in the country that are compromising personal security.

Moroccan court sends crypto kidnapper to prison

The Court of Appeal in the Moroccan city of Tangier gave Mohamed Hamid Bajou the harsh sentence on Thursday, May 21, local and French media reported.

The 25-year-old man is the alleged mastermind of a gang that committed a series of brazen abductions of wealthy individuals in France, including prominent people from the crypto space.

Bajou was facing serious charges, the French crypto information portal Journal du Coin noted in an article on Saturday, quoting a post by the Moroccan news website Tanja7 from Friday.

These included establishing a criminal group, kidnapping, unlawful detention and torture for ransom, attempted premeditated murder, illegal possession of firearms, and drug trafficking.

One of Bajou’s victims was David Balland, a co-founder of Ledger, the French company known for its popular hardware cryptocurrency wallets.

The crypto entrepreneur was abducted in January 2025 along with his female partner at their home in Central France.

The attackers demanded a 10-million-euro ransom, and Balland had a finger cut off before the couple was rescued by the French police.

This was not the only such case. Another crypto executive, kidnapped in May 2025, also lost a finger before his release.

The Moroccan court ordered Bajou to pay 1 million dirhams (nearly $110,000) to each of the individuals known to have been targeted by his gang.

Convicted kidnapper denies all charges

Mohamed Bajou was arrested in Tangier in June last year. He was wanted under a Red Notice issued by Interpol on the request of French authorities. At the time, media reports identified him as “Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou.”

During a search at his home, Moroccan law enforcement found a whole arsenal of bladed weapons, hidden in the apartment’s ventilation ducts.

At the time, the Moroccan prosecutor leading the probe stated that the suspect posed a serious threat, noting that he was evidently planning his next move.

Investigators added that seized messages and other analyzed correspondence indicated he was indeed the mastermind of the kidnapping operation.

However, Bajou denied all charges during the subsequent trial. He maintained he left France and settled in Morocco, where he worked on his grandfather’s farm.

He insisted that the accusations against him were based on false statements made by a cousin, who was allegedly motivated by a family conflict.

Mohamed Bajou also disputed the authorities’ claims that the victims had formally identified him before he was implicated.

Data leaks blamed for string of kidnappings

France has been hit by a wave of kidnappings of crypto figures and their family members since last year. The attacks are continuing despite multiple arrests.

The public debate over what’s causing the phenomenon has been growing, with Telegram founder Pavel Durov recently warning that leaks of personal data may be putting crypto holders at risk.

Bajou will certainly be succeeded by someone else until more than 6,000 leaks a year continue to fuel black markets for such information, Journal du Coin remarked in its piece, adding:

“A stolen file containing an address, estimated net worth, and lifestyle habits is enough to transform a Bitcoin holder into an operational target.”

All the attackers need is one such file, an address, and a weapon, the French crypto website noted, calling to condemn the “digital negligence” that made this possible.

In his post in late April, Durov, who holds a French passport, alleged that tax officials in France are “selling crypto owners’ data to criminals,” on top of “massive tax database leaks.”

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