French couple forced to hand over $1M in Bitcoin by criminals posing as police

A French couple in their late 50s was forced to hand over about 900,000 euros ($1 million) in Bitcoin during a fake police raid at their home west of Paris in the latest violent attack targeting cryptocurrency holders in France, according to TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Three suspects posing as police officers entered the couple’s home Monday morning in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, in the Yvelines department, and forced the husband to transfer the Bitcoin (BTC) while threatening the pair with a knife, The attackers then tied up the man, injured both victims and fled in a white van, the reports said.

The woman later freed her husband and ed neighbors at about 9:00 am local time, according to the reports. The Versailles prosecutor’s office said the case is being investigated by the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry on allegations including sequestration, armed robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. No arrests had been announced as of Tuesday.

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Wrench attacks see alarming rise as France suffers most incidents

The attack adds to a rise in so-called wrench attacks, in which criminals use threats or violence to force crypto holders to surrender digital assets. Wrench attacks increased by 75% in 2025 to 72 verified cases worldwide, according to cybersecurity platform CertiK.

France saw the biggest number of such incidents in 2025, with 19 confirmed wrench attacks, while Europe only accounted for about 40% of global incidents in 2025.

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France has already seen several high-profile crypto-linked abduction and home invasion cases this year. At the beginning of February, French police arrested six people over the kidnapping of a magistrate and her mother in a crypto-linked ransom attack targeting the magistrate’s partner, a crypto entrepreneur.

Days after the incident, French authorities arrested three suspects after a break-in targeting the home of an executive at Binance France.

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