Suspected French Crypto Kidnapping Ringleader Snared in Morocco, Second Suspect Sought

The arrest in Tangier adds pressure on French officials to address growing physical risks linked to crypto wealth and the need for coordinated enforcement beyond national borders.

• Moroccan police arrested Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou in Tangier following an Interpol Red Notice.
• French authorities suspect Bajjou of orchestrating a series of crypto-related kidnappings.
• A second suspected organizer remains at large, allegedly recruiting young people online to carry out attacks.
• French prosecutors have charged 25 people so far, most between ages 16 and 23.

Police in Morocco have detained a 24-year-old Franco-Moroccan man accused of organizing multiple kidnappings involving French cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, according to a June 4 report by Agence France Presse.

The suspect, Badiss Mohamed Amide Bajjou, was apprehended in Tangier following an Interpol Red Notice issued at France’s request.

He is being investigated for coordinating operations from outside France, including the January abduction of Ledger co-founder David Balland, whose captors reportedly severed one of his fingers while demanding a ransom.

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