Mr. David Balland, co-founder of Ledger Wallet, was rescued by French authorities on Jan 22 following the kidnapping of the crypto founder and his wife on Jan 21.
Mr. Balland lost a finger to the kidnappers, who sent a video of the mutilated finger to his family and colleague demanding a ransom of 10 million euros.
The rescue operation for Mr. Balland involved over 90 officers from the GIGN, one of France’s elite tactical police units.
French Authorities stated that about 10 people were being questioned on the matter following the release of the pair after the ransom was met.
The Chairman of Ledger Wallet, Mr. Pascal Gauthier, reacted to the release of David Balland and his Wife.
“We are deeply relieved that David and his wife have been released, and are now safe,” Mr. Pascal Gauthier, chairman, and chief executive of Ledger said in a statement.
We respected law enforcement requests around safeguarding critical details of the ongoing investigation and appreciated members of the press who did the same,” Mr. Gauthier added.
Mr Balland’s kidnapping sparked a debate on the safety concerns raised by the Public Ledger system where anyone can track transactions of high networth individuals.
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No Current Role
Ledger Wallet confirmed that Mr. Balland no longer works with them and hasn’t held an active role in the company since 2021.
Ledger Wallets is one of the foremost crypto companies in France, providing hardware wallets to the global crypto community.
Mr Balland is one of the eight co-founders of the company.
In 2021, Ledger raised US$380 million (S$513 million) in a funding round which valued it at US$1.5 billion.
A ledger wallet is a good example of cold wallet storage used by crypto enthusiasts who don’t want their funds to have any access to the internet.
