A court in Belgium has sent three people to prison for kidnapping the wife of a local crypto businessman, Stéphane Winkel.
On Thursday, local media said that the Brussels Criminal Court gave each kidnapper 12 years in prison, and according to the report, the case also involves a minor, who is being handled separately by a juvenile court.
Besides the prison sentences, the court told the three kidnappers to pay at least 1 million euros (about $1.2 million) to the victim as compensation.
A Hollywood-style rescue and Unknown Mastermind
The crime happened in December 2024. The kidnappers grabbed Winkel’s wife outside her home, pushed her into a van, and asked for ransom money in cryptocurrency.
After Winkel raised the alarm, the police chased the van. They stopped it with a risky move, arrested the kidnappers, and rescued the victim, like something out of a Hollywood movie.
The court found the three guilty, but said the people who planned the kidnapping are still unknown. It also did not believe the kidnappers’ claim that they were forced to do it because someone had threatened to kill them.
Why did they target Winkel?
Winkel is a well-known crypto investor and teacher in his area. He runs learning platforms like Crypto Académie and Crypto Sun. His YouTube channel has around 40,000 followers and gives free advice to people who want to learn about cryptocurrency.
Even though the police helped Winkel and his wife quickly, the kidnapping left them very scared. Reports say they had to move to a new place because of what happened.
“I consider myself a defender of freedom, but I now realize that safety must become an absolute priority for me and those around me,” Stéphane Winkel
Another Crypto Crime in Belgium
In 2022, a Belgian crypto trader was robbed in broad daylight in Antwerp. The trader had agreed to meet someone to sell cryptocurrency, but when they met, the buyer attacked him and stole his crypto wallet. The attacker got away with thousands of euros worth of crypto.
The police later found the thief after tracking the stolen funds on the blockchain. This case showed that even though crypto is digital, it can still be followed, and criminals can get caught.
That robbery made crypto traders in Belgium more careful. Many people started meeting in safer places or using trusted platforms for trading instead of face-to-face deals.
