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France Charges 88 People Over Violent Crypto "Wrench Attacks"

According to France’s PNACO, authorities have opened 12 judicial investigations into crypto kidnapping cases, charged 88 suspects, and tracked 135 crypto-related attacks since 2023.

Fact Check
The claim is strongly supported by multiple independent April 24, 2026 reports that explicitly attribute the figures to PNACO or to national anti-organized crime prosecutor Vanessa Perrée. The Ici article states 88 people were 'mises en examen' in 12 ongoing investigations and that 135 incidents were recorded since 2023. Sud Ouest repeats the same figures, and Actu17 also gives the same PNACO totals. The Crypto.news report independently corroborates the 88 suspects and 12 investigations. While I did not retrieve a direct official PNACO press-release URL in this run, the consistency across contemporaneous reports citing PNACO makes the claim likely true.
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Summary

France has opened 12 judicial investigations into crypto kidnapping cases and charged 88 suspects, according to the PNACO. The agency said France has recorded 135 crypto-related attacks since 2023, including 18 in 2024, 67 in 2025, and 47 so far in 2026. Police recently arrested six suspects in two separate operations, adding to a broader crackdown on violent attacks targeting crypto holders.

Terms & Concepts
  • crypto kidnapping: A violent crime in which victims are abducted or threatened to force the transfer of digital assets or disclosure of wallet access credentials.