--- title: "Hackers steal from Credit Mutuel Arkea's own account in rare attack on a mainstream bank" description: "The French bank says customer accounts and assets are untouched and part of the stolen money is frozen, but it has not disclosed the size of the loss." url: https://insurance.skoop.news/french-bank-credit-mutuel-arkea-says-100-million-missing-aft-4c34a6/ published: 2026-11-06T07:38:34.634523-05:00 modified: 2026-11-06T07:38:34.634533-05:00 section: "Insurance" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Credit Mutuel Arkea", "Credit Mutuel", "Puneet Kakkar of Nardello & Co", "European Central Bank", "European Union", "Lazarus Group", "French", "Europe", "ZachXBT"] hashtags: ["#CreditMutuelArkea", "#CreditMutuel", "#PuneetKakkarOfNardelloCo", "#insurance", "#insurancenews"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Siege-credit-mutuel-arkea.jpg/1280px-Siege-credit-mutuel-arkea.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Hackers steal from Credit Mutuel Arkea's own account in rare attack on a mainstream bank > The French bank says customer accounts and assets are untouched and part of the stolen money is frozen, but it has not disclosed the size of the loss. Published 2026-11-06 · Updated 2026-11-06 · Insurance, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Hackers carried out fraudulent transfers from the own account of Credit Mutuel Arkea, a French bank, in what is described as a rare instance of cybercriminals successfully stealing from a mainstream bank. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) - The bank said the attackers went through the platform of one of its service providers and reached the bank directly. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) - Part of the funds involved has been frozen, and other steps are underway to recover the rest, the bank said. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) ## A theft from the bank itself Hackers carried out fraudulent transfers from the own account of Credit Mutuel Arkea, a French bank, in what is described as a rare instance of cybercriminals successfully stealing from a mainstream bank. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank says customer accounts and assets were not affected, which matters to account holders and to anyone whose transfers were delayed. [[3]](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The cyberattack was made public on Wednesday. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank said it was working to try to recover the stolen money. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) ## How the attackers got in The bank said the attackers went through the platform of one of its service providers and reached the bank directly. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) It declined to identify the third-party provider whose platform was used. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The attackers used an account belonging to Credit Mutuel Arkea to carry out fraudulent transactions. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) They sent transactions to other banks, which could have allowed them to convert the money into cryptocurrency. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) The funds were not in the form of cryptocurrency, the bank said, and could have been converted to crypto after being stolen. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank described the incident as a sophisticated attack from the outside, and said it was not the result of human error. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) A spokesperson rejected media reports that the bank's online banking subsidiary Fortuneo was the entry point for the attack. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) ## The response so far Part of the funds involved has been frozen, and other steps are underway to recover the rest, the bank said. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) As a precaution, it temporarily suspended some transactions, which delayed some transfers. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank said it had informed the European Central Bank, French banking supervisors and prosecutors. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The Paris prosecutor's office said its cybercrime unit received a complaint from Credit Mutuel Arkea on Wednesday and immediately opened an investigation led by France's cybercrime police. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank is working with judicial and police authorities to determine the origin of the attack and how it was carried out. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) ## What is known and what is not Details of the attack first emerged on Monday in a report by ZachXBT, a pseudonymous blockchain investigator who later identified Arkéa as the alleged victim. [[3]](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) Arkéa confirmed the incident but declined to disclose the exact loss. [[3]](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) The bank has not said when the attack began, who was behind it, or whether any data was taken. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) ZachXBT said he was highly confident the incident was not the work of North Korea's Lazarus Group. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) ## Why analysts call it unusual Cyber experts told Reuters that it was unusual for money to be stolen virtually from a bank. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) Rafay Baloch, CEO of RedSecLabs, said the Credit Mutuel attack was unprecedented in Europe. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) Puneet Kakkar of Nardello & Co said any hit in the financial system is a big deal. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) He also said French banks typically have strong cybersecurity due to regulatory requirements. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) Credit Mutuel Arkea is part of the wider Credit Mutuel banking network and is affiliated with its central body while retaining significant strategic autonomy. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) ## The wider pressure on Europe's banks Financial regulators globally have stepped up warnings about the risk of cyberattacks, particularly with the growth of AI. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) Earlier this week, the European Union said its agencies were holding urgent discussions with national authorities to coordinate a response to a growing wave of cyberattacks across Europe. [[3]](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) ## What this means for customers If you bank with Credit Mutuel Arkea, the bank says your accounts and assets were not affected. [[3]](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) Some transfers were delayed after the bank temporarily suspended some transactions as a precaution. [[2]](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) The bank warned customers that phishing attempts are possible after the attack. [[1]](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) ## Sources 1. [Arkea Hack: Bank Confirms Cyberattack, ZachXBT Says $133M Stolen](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/credit-mutuel-arkea-hack-133-million) — Bitcoin Magazine 2. [French Bank Credit Mutuel Arkea Says €100 Million Missing After Cyberattack](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/11/06/891802.htm) — Insurance Journal 3. [Hackers Steal $112 Million From French Bank in Latest Cyberattack on France](https://www.sofx.com/hackers-steal-112-million-from-french-bank-in-latest-cyberattack-on-france/) — sofx.com Image: Photo: Jul.H / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siege-credit-mutuel-arkea.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/