David Prinçay, chief government of Binance France, was the goal of a failed house invasion close to Paris on Feb. 12, in keeping with French outlet RTL.
Three masked males compelled entry right into a residential constructing in Val-de-Marne in the course of the early hours of the morning. The suspects entered the flawed condo earlier than reaching Prinçay’s residence.
The manager was not house on the time however the group took two cell phones and left the constructing.
Police imagine the identical suspects carried out a second break-in try later that morning in Vaucresson, west of Paris. Reviews stated a resident was assaulted in the course of the incident, which additionally appeared to contain an incorrect deal with.
French authorities traced the stolen units and reviewed surveillance footage to determine the suspects’ actions. Investigators adopted the group as they traveled by practice towards Lyon.
Officers from the Lyon BRI arrested the three males at Lyon Perrache station later that day. They had been positioned in custody whereas police proceed their investigation.
The case concerned coordination throughout a number of models, together with Paris’s anti-banditry brigade and departments in Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Yvelines, and transport police providers.
The incident provides to rising concern over assaults linked to cryptocurrency figures in France. The nation has seen an increase in so-called “wrench assaults,” the place criminals use threats or violence to acquire entry to digital belongings.
Authorities haven’t launched additional particulars on attainable motives or connections. Binance has not issued a public touch upon the break-in try.
All through 2025 and into this 12 months, a number of kidnappings, ransom makes an attempt, and residential invasions had been reported in opposition to crypto holders and entrepreneurs.
Final 12 months, a Hong Kong man was sentenced to seven years in Canada for taking part in a violent, sexually abusive house invasion that stole $1.6 million in Bitcoin from a British Columbia household.
Binance’s rocky relationship with the French authorities
French authorities have investigated Binance for alleged cash laundering, tax fraud, and working with out correct registration earlier than its Might 2022 approval.
The Binance probe, intensified in early 2025, centered on suspected failures in anti-money laundering controls and the “unlawful” provision of providers, doubtlessly linked to drug trafficking.
French authorities additionally lately raided X’s Paris workplaces as a part of a legal investigation into allegations that the Grok AI chatbot was used to generate unlawful little one sexual abuse imagery.
The probe was being coordinated with Europol and is analyzing the involvement of each present and former executives, together with Elon Musk. X has denied any wrongdoing, calling the investigation politically motivated.