A court in Belgium has Release Prisoners for 12 years of three individuals involved in the kidnapping of a local encrypted businessman’s wife.
The case, which drew attention to both legal societies and encryption, focuses on a ransom request submitted in digital assets, highlighting the increasing concerns about the intersection of financial technology and material security.
Court ruling and ongoing investigations
The Brussels Criminal Court found that the trio is guilty of the hostage after the victim was kidnapped outside her residence and forced her to join a truck. According to what the kidnappers demanded a coding ransom in exchange for its release.
The authorities acted quickly after alerting the woman’s husband, Stephen Winkel, a well -known figure in the scene of local encryption education, law enforcement. The police intercepted the car and executed a highly dangerous maneuver to stop it, free the victim and arrest the suspects.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered the individuals convicted of paying a civil compensation of at least one million euros (about $ 1.2 million) for the victim. While the sentences represent the legal conclusion of the three kidnapping, the issue remains open in some respects.
The court admitted that the main figures behind the crime coincidence are still unknown. The defendants claim that they were acting under coercion, and claiming that they were threatened with death if they did not perform the kidnapping, and the court rejected it.
The case also includes a minor, whose role is treated separately through the juvenile elimination system in Belgium. According to reports from La Dernière Heure, the court emphasized the seriousness of the crime and the need to maintain deterrence, especially in criminal activities that intersect with the emerging financial sectors such as Crypto.
The victim and her family were not named in detail in the court’s documents to protect their privacy, but psychological losses were great.
Impact on the Winkels family and the encryption community
Stéphane Winkel is known for its educational efforts within the coded currency area. It runs platforms like Crypto Académie and Crypto Sun, which aims to make investment in digital assets easier for the public.
Its channel on YouTube, which includes more than 39,000 subscribers, is usually characterized by educational programs, donations and wallets. However, the painful accident has pushed a transformation in both his personal and public life.
in mail In X, which was published shortly after the accident, Winkel stated, “I consider myself a defender of freedom, but I now realize that safety must become an absolute priority for me and those around me.”
He also pledged to avoid the demonstrations of the public portfolio or promotional gifts to move forward, and instead, its content focused on market analysis and education.
After several months of silence, Winkel returned to YouTube in June 2025, and chose only the audio narration in his videos instead of appearing on the camera, a step in line with his new focus on privacy and security.
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