Belgian court sentences three in kidnapping of crypto investor’s wife

After sentencing the three kidnappers to 12 years each and ordering civil damages, the court noted that the masterminds behind the attack remain at large.

A Belgian court has sentenced three people for their roles in a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping targeting the wife of local crypto entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel.

The Brussels Criminal Court handed down 12-year prison sentences to three kidnappers who attacked Winkel’s wife in December 2024, local news agency La Dernière Heure reported on Thursday.

The criminals were convicted of hostage-taking after abducting the victim outside her home, forcing her into a van and demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency.

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