French crypto millionaires tortured in London

For several years, French crypto millionaires have been a prime target for criminals. Typically, young individuals who have become millionaires through investments in Bitcoin or other altcoins are actively tracked via their social media posts by criminals. In London this week, a jury found six men guilty of the kidnapping, torture, and blackmail of two unnamed French crypto millionaires.

Cannabis

The case centred on two French men in their twenties, unnamed during the trial and described in court as crypto-millionaires, who travelled to London back in July 2025. According to the prosecution, they were targeted after sharing images of their lavish lifestyles on social media.

Evidence presented to the Inner London Crown Court revealed that the two men drove from Kensington to East London to buy cannabis one evening. There they walked into a trap set by three masked criminals armed with guns.

The victims were forced into a rented Mercedes and taken to an apartment in London, where they were held captive for more than two days. Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC described their treatment as “cold and ruthless torture.”

The jury heard how the men were bound with tape and repeatedly assaulted, burned with cigarettes, and scalded with boiling water on various parts of their bodies.

According to the prosecution, this was part of a prolonged and violent kidnapping driven by the perpetrators’ desire for financial gain.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. “Crypto-kidnapping” has been a problem in France for some time now.