The wife of one of Norway’s richest men has probably been abducted. Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen, the 68-year-old wife of real estate investor Tom Hagen, had disappeared from her house near Oslo ten weeks ago, police said on Wednesday. Since then, there are no signs of life from her, but no evidence that she is dead. According to police, there is a ransom note in crypto currency.
„Our main theory is that the victim was kidnapped by unknown intruders in their home,“ says Broske. This is a bit isolated in the place Lorenskog, about 20 kilometers from the capital Oslo. He did not want to rule out that the woman might have been taken out of the country. In addition to other authorities Interpol had been turned on.
There was a „ransom demand and serious threats,“ said police spokesman Tommy Broske on Wednesday. The contact with the suspected kidnappers was so far but poor and not oral. Instead, it was communicated via a digital platform. The woman disappeared on the 31st of October. There are currently no suspects, but evidence that they are „professional“ kidnappers. Thus, no evidence of a burglary has been discovered.
First, the Norwegian newspaper „Aftenposten“ reported on the case. She wrote on Wednesday, the police had been investigating the matter so far in secret. According to the newspaper and also the sheet „Verdens Gang“, the ransom demand in the cryptocurrency Monero amounts to nine million euros. Broske did not want to comment on that. The police advise the family, however, not to take any claims. She expects protracted investigations.
Rich by real estate and electricity
The 68-year-old man of the kidnapped, an investor, is one of the richest people in the country. He is said to have earned over a period of eleven years with electricity sales and real estate a billion Norwegian kroner (about 102 million), of which alone 174 million crowns (17.8 million euros) in 2017. His net assets are on 1.7 billion crowns (around 173 million euros). According to the magazine „Kapital“ he is ranked 172 of the richest Norwegians. The family should live in seclusion.
In Norway, where crime rates are low, the case is causing quite a stir. There are currently no other abduction cases in the Scandinavian country where ransom in cryptocurrency has been demanded. Internationally, however, such cases have been more common.
