They said they were police, but pulled a knife and stole $1m in Bitcoin

Police in the exclusive Île-de-France commune of Versailles are hunting three men who forced a couple to hand over around $1 million worth of Bitcoin at knifepoint.

The incident took place in the Le Chesnay district, with the attackers targeting the unnamed victims, a man and a woman in their late 50s, at their home early on Monday morning, sources close to Versailles police and prosecution services told French media outlet TF1.

The individuals duped the duo into opening their door by posing as police officers, an unnamed source close to the investigation told the media outlet. After the woman opened the door, the attackers pushed her aside and forced their way into the house, the source said.

Crypto-related kidnappings are becoming increasingly commonplace in France. Last month, police said they had dealt with 40 cases of organised, crypto-related kidnapping between July 2023 and the end of 2025. In many cases, detectives say, attacks have been commissioned by overseas masterminds.

But it’s not just a French problem, with experts warning that 2026 will be even more brutal after the record violence against crypto investors in 2025.

Manhunt continues

Once inside the couple’s house, one of the three assailants pulled a knife on the couple and threatened to stab the woman if her partner did not transfer the Bitcoin to the attackers’ wallet, the source told TF1.

The man reportedly complied with the attackers. The Versailles prosecutor’s office has confirmed the crypto loss, but has not publicly revealed the details of the attack.

The source said that after confirming the transfer, the attackers forced the two victims onto their sofa, leaving the woman’s shoulder “slightly injured.”

The woman was eventually able to loosen her bonds and break free. After untying her husband, she reportedly called her neighbour to ask for help.

The Versailles prosecutor’s office confirmed that it has yet to make any arrests and confirmed the case was being handled by the Banditry Repression Brigade. The brigade is a branch of France’s judicial police that handles organised crime.

The office said it wants to charge the trio with kidnapping, armed robbery, organised crime, and criminal conspiracy.

Several crypto-related kidnapping attempts have been reported in France this year. Last month, Binance’s France chief was the subject of a failed wrench attack in Val-de-Marne.

And three young attackers in Isère held and tortured a 74-year-old man for several hours in the mistaken belief that he was the father of a crypto millionaire.

Last year, in central Paris, police rescued an elderly man from four masked kidnappers who cut off one of his fingers and demanded that his crypto-holding son send them a ransom worth several million dollars.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].