Millionaire’s wife in ‘crypto’ kidnapping
The wife of one of Norway’s richest men is believed to have been abducted, with suspected kidnappers demanding a US$10 million ($14.8m) ransom in the cryptocurrency Monero and warning against getting the police involved, according to Norway’s VG newspaper.
Tom Hagen came home on October 31 to find his wife Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen, 68, missing and a ransom note threatening to kill her unless he made the payment.
Inspector Tommy Broske, leading the investigation, said: “Police have so far advised the family not to meet the requirements.”
It is the country’s first known kidnap for a crypto ransom.
Tom Hagen, also 68, made his money from a power supply company he founded. He is number 172 on a list of Norway's wealthiest people published by the financial magazine Kapital, with a fortune that amounted to nearly 1.7 billion kroner ($295.2m) in 2018, according to Norwegian news agency NTB.
Norwegian police yesterday lifted a publicity ban in the hope that neighbours or people in the area may have seen or recorded something that could lead to the abductors.
Broske said whoever kidnapped Hagen had made contact over “a digital platform” but had so far sent no proof that she was alive.
Tom Hagen’s lawyer is Svein Holden, the prosecutor of Anders Breivik, the far-Right terrorist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011. Holden called on the kidnappers to contact the family.
“The family wants to get in touch with those who have Anne-Elizabeth today. They want to get a confirmation that she is okay, and that she is alive,” he said.
“If she is, the family is prepared to initiate a process to get her home safely.”
Justice Minister Tor Mikkel Wara said to NTB that he was told about her disappearance right after it happened.
“The reason for us to go public with this case now is that, despite a broad and extensive investigation, we need more information,” Broske said.
Abductions for crypto-ransoms have increased internationally since the first case was recorded in Costa Rica in 2015.
According to the security firm Control Risks, there was one case per month in the first half of last year.
Monero uses an “obfuscated public ledger”, which means that it is impossible for an outside observer to discover the source or destination of transfers. According to the cybersecurity company Carbon Black, the currency was used in almost half the cryptocurrency ransomware attacks in the first half of last year.—