David Balland was found alive on Wednesday evening after a harrowing two-day manhunt conducted by France’s elite police tactical unit Groupe d’intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale (GIGN).
Ledger Co-Founder Kidnapped and Released After Intense Rescue Mission
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David Balland Rescued After Two-Day Manhunt
Ledger co-founder David Balland was rescued late Wednesday evening after being kidnapped on Tuesday in the small French town of Vierzon by a sophisticated criminal group that demanded a hefty ransom, according to reporting by French news outlet Le Parisien.
Previous rumors had mistakenly identified the hostage as Éric Larchevêque, Balland’s fellow co-founder. Larchevêque is the former CEO of Ledger and is one of France’s richest entrepreneurs with a net worth of 340 million euros or roughly $350 million USD according to French business magazine Challenges. He reportedly drives around displaying the price of bitcoin ( BTC) on his Tesla’s dashboard screen.
La Parisien reported that Balland was taken to hospital soon after being rescued. Other outlets reported that his captors had sent a finger with their ransom demand. Multiple suspects were taken into custody earlier today and the investigation is still ongoing.
“This must be something quite serious because I’ve never seen anything like this in my town,” said Alain Mornay, mayor of of Méreau which is adjacent to Vierzon. “The authorities are still present tonight.”
