According to BlockBeats, a Belgian court has sentenced three individuals to 12 years in prison for the kidnapping of the wife of local cryptocurrency entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel in December 2024. The kidnappers demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency. In addition to the prison sentences, the court ordered the convicts to pay at least 1 million euros in civil compensation to the victims.
The mastermind behind the crime remains at large. Although the victim was rescued by police, the ordeal left her with severe physical and psychological trauma, forcing the Winkel family to relocate. Stéphane Winkel, the founder of the cryptocurrency education platform Crypto Académie, has a YouTube channel with 40,000 subscribers. Following the incident, Winkel announced plans to shift his content strategy towards security education rather than practical wallet demonstrations.