Norway: Businessman’s wife abducted; ransom demanded

COPENHAGEN — Norway’s police said Wednesday the missing wife of one of Norway’s richest men has been abducted, and that her suspected kidnappers have demanded a ransom.

Chief investigator Tommy Broeske said 68-year-old Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen has been missing since October 31. Her husband Tom Hagen — a real estate investor and owner of power facilities — is number 172 on a list of the country’s 400 most wealthy people published by Norway’s financial magazine Kapital. His fortune in 2018 amounted to nearly 1.7 billion kroner ($2 billion), according to Norwegian news agency NTB.

Police said a note found in the couple’s house, east of Oslo, described what would happen to her if the demanded ransom wasn’t paid in the cryptocurrency Monero.

Police did not give a figure for the ransom amount, but Norway’s VG newspaper reported it was 9 million euros ($10.3 million.)

The newspaper reported the note said Falkevik Hagen would be killed if police were involved. Broeske declined to comment other than saying “the threats (in the note) were of a very serious character.”

“The reason for us to go public with this case now is that despite a broad and extensive investigation, we need more information,” he told a news conference.

“We have no suspects in this case,” he said. Police have been “on the case for several weeks. That is all I’d say,” he added.

Broeske said “those behind have chosen to communicate digitally and we have had no other type of contact.”  Police had urged the family not to pay any ransom.

Police believed she disappeared from the couple’s home, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Swedish border. Broeske said they were working with Europol and Interpol on the case. /kga