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French Tax Official Sold Cryptocurrency Investor Data to Criminal Networks · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Paris Investigating Chamber rejected an appeal for release Monday from a French tax administration employee, who prosecutors accuse of selling confidential information about cryptocurrency investors to criminal organizations.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Galia C.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: 32 has been detained since June 30th, 2025, facing charges of complicity and violence against a public official and criminal conspiracy.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Investigators examining her workstation at the Bobani tax office uncovered searches specifically targeting cryptocurrency specialists and investors, whose personal data she allegedly sold to criminals for physical attacks and extortion.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Authorities traced her activity through the tax administration's Mira software, which she exploited to access sensitive financial information.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Police found cash deposits and Western Union transfers in her bank accounts, indicating payment for transmitting confidential data to an anonymous client.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Cryptocurrency investors present particularly valuable targets for organized crime, seeking to steal private keys through so-called wrench attacks, physical assaults designed to force victims to surrender access codes.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Her search history revealed queries on multiple cryptocurrency specialists alongside other high-profile individuals, including billionaire Vincent Balleray, health inspectors, prison guards, and a judge.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: The investigation began after three armed men assaulted a prison guard from La Sante prison in his Montreux home in September 2024.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Prosecutors allege Galia C.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: provided the attackers with the victim's precise address, which she obtained through unauthorized tax system searches.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: The men received 800 euros to carry out the assault, which stemmed from a dispute over mobile phones discovered in a prison cell.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Galia C.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: has a prior conviction for supplying narcotics to inmates and maintained connections within the prison system.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: During Monday's hearing, she acknowledged passing on information, but denied knowing her client's violent intentions.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Her attorney contends she cannot identify the instigator because his identity remains unknown to her.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The court rejected her release after she refused to provide her phone passcode or name her contacts.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: The attorney general noted that Galea C.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: used her position in a completely abnormal way to serve a seasoned criminal.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: France has experienced multiple physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders, according to Protos.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: On Monday evening, three masked individuals held a woman captive while searching for a USB device containing her partner's cryptocurrency access information, local media reported.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: She freed herself and contacted the police after the attackers fled.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: The case raises broader questions about government access to cryptocurrency holder information.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: South Korea recently proposed freezing crypto accounts of suspected market manipulators without court warrants, drawing criticism from industry observers who warn such powers could expand beyond their stated purpose.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Rafael Chintron, CEO of Wealthy Expat, argues that increasingly governments and banks are seeing crypto as an enemy, or automatically assuming that everyone who holds crypto is a criminal.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Proto's reports that previous incidents include kidnappings involving mutilation and assaults in public spaces.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Galia C faces additional charges in Nancy related to other instances of intimidation against public officials, according to Journal Du Quin, which describes the existence of a structured network exploiting vulnerabilities within the tax administration.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Authorities are investigating whether other tax officials have been compromised by the same criminal network to compile lists of potential cryptocurrency investor targets.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ahmad Abbas on IMIDaily.com.
• 4:02
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• 4:09
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