Three Sentenced in Brussels Kidnapping Case
A Belgian court just handed down 12-year prison sentences to three men involved in the abduction of a crypto investor’s wife last December. The Brussels Criminal Court didn’t buy their claims of acting under pressure—instead, they’ll also have to pay the victim over a million euros in damages.
The whole thing started outside the couple’s home in Forest, Brussels. The woman was forced into a van, but her husband, Stéphane Winkel—a well-known trading coach in crypto circles—quickly alerted police. A chase followed, ending near Bruges where officers stopped the van and arrested the suspects. The victim was unharmed, physically at least.
But here’s the thing: the court made it clear these three weren’t the brains behind the operation. Whoever planned it is still out there.
France’s Crypto Kidnapping Problem
This isn’t an isolated case. Over in France, there’s been a weird, unsettling spike in kidnappings tied to crypto. Just last month, a 26-year-old TikTok influencer was grabbed by four men near Paris. They wanted €50,000 in crypto, apparently because of his social media posts about it. Turns out his accounts were almost empty, so they let him go.
Then there was the investor’s father who was taken and brutally tortured for a €7 million ransom. Or the attempted kidnapping of a crypto exchange CEO’s daughter, which only failed because bystanders and her partner stepped in.
France alone accounted for six of the 22 confirmed crypto-related abductions worldwide last year, according to Cybernews. That’s more than anywhere else. Why? Probably because the country has a high number of visible crypto figures—think Ledger, Paymium, and others.
And let’s not forget the Ledger data breach back in 2020. That leak exposed personal details of thousands of wallet buyers, including home addresses. It’s not hard to connect the dots there.
What Now?
The sentences in Belgium might bring some closure, but the bigger pattern isn’t going away. These cases keep happening because, frankly, it works sometimes. Crypto moves fast, and tracing payments isn’t always easy.
Police are paying attention, at least. But for now, people with any kind of public crypto profile might want to keep a low profile. Or at least check their locks twice.