Paris
CNN
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French police rescued the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur from his kidnappers Saturday night, but found he’d had one of his fingers severed – the latest in a spate of abductions tied to cryptocurrency.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was forced into a van by four men wearing ski masks on a street of Paris Thursday morning. He was held hostage in an Airbnb 12 miles south of the French capital for two days before being rescued.

The kidnappers contacted the victim’s son, sending a video of the mutilated victim and demanding millions of euros in ransom money, according to CNN affiliate BFM TV.

Five people between the ages of 23 and 27 were brought into police custody following the raid, according to the Paris Prosecutor’s office.

The kidnapping shares striking similarities with other recent kidnappings tied to crypto currency in France and surrounding countries.

In January 2025, David Balland, cofounder of the crypto wallet company Ledger, was kidnapped with his wife from their home in central France.

Before the couple was freed by police, the assailants cut off Balland’s finger, sending a video of the severed appendage to his business partner Eric Larchevêque and demanding ransom money.

In December 2024, the wife of crypto investor and influencer Stéphane Winkel was kidnapped from the couple’s home in Belgium. She was rescued after her kidnapper crashed his car in a dramatic police chase, Winkel wrote in a post on X.

It is unclear whether the recent spate of crypto kidnappings are connected or not.

“Obviously there’s at least a link in the modus operandi. Now, whether it’s the same team or not is for the investigators to say.” said internal security expert Guillaume Farde speaking on French television Sunday.

Police have opened an investigation into the latest kidnapping, including for extortion by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy, the Paris Prosecutor’s office told CNN.

CNN
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Bayern Munich has been crowned Bundesliga champion for a record-extending 33rd time with two games remaining after its closest title rival Bayer Leverkusen drew a 2-2 tie against SC Freiburg on Sunday afternoon.

Down 2-1 in extra time, Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah leveled the game on a flicked header which found the far bottom corner at Europa-Park Stadion. But the dramatic equalizer was not enough to deprive Munich of yet another Bundesliga trophy.

Bayern was on the verge of claiming the title on Saturday after goals from Eric Dier, Michael Olise and Leroy Sané powered Vincent Kompany’s team to a remarkable comeback against RB Leipzig, which had led 2-0 at halftime. But the celebrations had to be delayed when Leipzig forward Yussuf Poulsen equalized in the fourth minute of second-half injury time.

However, Sunday’s result means that Bayer Leverkusen – last year’s champion – can no longer catch Bayern, despite having two games left to play. Leverkusen’s title win in 2023-24 is the only time in the last 13 seasons that a team other than Bayern has been German champion.

🏆 𝐃𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 🏆

Brought it home. For the club, for the fans, for the city. ❤️🤍#MiaSanMeister pic.twitter.com/jbYe1aj6NU

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) May 4, 2025

Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the joint-second most successful teams in Bundesliga history, have five titles each since the league’s inaugural season began in 1963.

Kompany has impressed domestically in his first year since joining from English club Burnley, with Bayern having sat top of the league since the third week of the season.

The title win also represents the first time that English striker Harry Kane has ever won silverware with club or country. The former Tottenham Hotspur player has lost in the European Championship final on two occasions and the Champions League final once, but can now add a club trophy to his long list of personal accolades.

CNN
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“One of the most challenging things” about being imprisoned in Russia, Marc Fogel recalled, “was feeling like I might be forgotten.”

Fogel, a teacher, was detained for three and half years before being released in mid-February – becoming one of the first American detainees freed during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Fogel returned to Washington, DC, on Wednesday – in front of a mural of Americans detained abroad – to join with the families of others still imprisoned to call for their release.

“I am one of the lucky ones, and I want you to know that I and my family will work relentlessly for you all, because we want all of your loved ones here soon,” he said.

Fogel was among several Americans who had been freed from detention abroad who attended Wednesday’s mural unveiling. It was the third iteration of the project, organized by the Bring Our Families Home Campaign and created by artist Isaac Campbell, displaying 10-foot-tall faces of Americans detained abroad on an alley wall in the Georgetown neighborhood of the nation’s capital.

“It gives them a name. Their faces, as you can see, are larger than life, so that they can no longer be ignored,” said Scott St. Clair, whose son, Joseph St. Clair, is a veteran imprisoned in Venezuela. He is one of nine Americans there designated as wrongfully detained.

The mural shows St. Clair, Ksenia Karelina, Mahmood Habibi, Lucas Hunter, Andre Khachatoorian, David Barnes, Jorge Marcelo Vargas, Robert Gilman, Wilbert Castaneda, Youras Ziankovich, Shahab Dalili and Zack Shahin. Karelina and Ziankovich have both been freed – Ziankovich’s release happened on the same day the mural was unveiled.

The families of those whose faces are now displayed – held in countries like Venezuela, Russia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates – spoke of the pain of their loved ones’ detentions.

“I want you to imagine something, imagine someone you love with all your heart confined in a box, four walls, no lights, no windows, feeling isolated, in immense pain and completely uncertain if they will ever be free. Unfortunately for us, that nightmare is our everyday reality,” said the granddaughter of Vargas, a US citizen detained in Venezuela.

They also called for the US government to do its utmost to bring their loved ones home.

“Please, Mr. President, members of the Congress, use your authority, use your voices, use your resolve. Let the world know that America does not abandon its people,” said Patti St. Clair.