David Prinçay, chief govt of Binance France, was the goal of a failed house invasion close to Paris on Feb. 12, according to French outlet RTL.
Three masked males pressured entry right into a residential constructing in Val-de-Marne through the early hours of the morning. The suspects entered the unsuitable condo earlier than reaching Prinçay’s residence.
The chief 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. Studies stated a resident was assaulted through the incident, which additionally appeared to contain an incorrect deal with.
French authorities traced the stolen gadgets and reviewed surveillance footage to establish 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 have 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 companies.
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 property.
Authorities haven’t launched additional particulars on doable 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 attempts, and residential invasions have been reported towards crypto holders and entrepreneurs.
Final 12 months, a Hong Kong man was sentenced to seven years in Canada for collaborating 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 Could 2022 approval.
The Binance probe, intensified in early 2025, centered on suspected failures in anti-money laundering controls and the “unlawful” provision of companies, 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 inspecting the involvement of each present and former executives, together with Elon Musk. X has denied any wrongdoing, calling the investigation politically motivated.
