Telegram founder Pavel Durov has made explosive allegations against French tax authorities, claiming officials are selling personal data belonging to cryptocurrency holders to organised criminal gangs — an accusation he made as France grapples with a wave of more than 40 crypto-related kidnappings since the start of the year.
In a post on X, Durov alleged that French tax officials were leaking the details of cryptocurrency investors to criminals while simultaneously failing to address what he described as “massive” breaches within government tax databases. The claims came against a backdrop of documented criminal activity that has sent shockwaves through France’s cryptocurrency industry and beyond.
The allegations are not entirely without foundation. Le Parisien reported that a French tax official, identified as Ghalia C., was charged with illegally accessing government software to obtain the addresses and financial assets of cryptocurrency investors and then selling that data to organised crime. The case has added credibility to fears that state databases are being exploited as a targeting tool by criminal networks seeking wealthy victims.
Compounding the concern, France’s National Agency for Secure Documents confirmed earlier this month a security incident on its government portal that potentially exposed personal and professional account data belonging to users, according to a statement on the agency’s website.
The consequences on the ground have been severe. According to Le Monde, one of France’s most widely read newspapers, more than 40 cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking linked to cryptocurrency have been recorded in France since the beginning of 2026 alone, with most incidents targeting wealthy individuals in the sector and their families.
Among the most prominent cases was the abduction of David Balland, co-founder of the leading French cryptocurrency hardware company Ledger, and his partner in 2025. Both were eventually freed. Later the same year, the daughter of Pierre Noizat, chief executive and founder of Bitcoin exchange platform Paymium, survived an attempted kidnapping by three armed attackers, though her partner and child were injured in the ordeal.
The severity of the trend has created palpable anxiety within France’s cryptocurrency community and raised questions about whether state data security failures are directly enabling criminal targeting of high-net-worth individuals in the sector.
Durov’s intervention is significant not only for its content but for its source. The Telegram founder has been engaged in his own prolonged dispute with French authorities since his arrest in August 2024 over allegations that he failed to adequately moderate Telegram to prevent criminal activity on the platform — allegations he has repeatedly denied. He later claimed, as reported by Benzinga, that French intelligence had pressured him to censor political voices on Telegram in exchange for leniency in his ongoing legal case.
France’s Ministry of Finance and Economy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Benzinga.
