03 February 2005, 18:31 Society

Millionaire freed himself for one and a half million

Irina Petrakova In Sweden, one of the largest businessmen, the owner of the Siba retail chain, Fabian Bengtsson, was released from hostage. He was held captive for two weeks and was found in a park in Gothenburg on Wednesday. Police claim that Bengtsson was released during a special operation, but according to other sources, $1.5 million was paid for his release.

On Wednesday morning, one of the largest entrepreneurs in Sweden, 32-year-old millionaire Fabian Bengtsson, was released from hostage in the center of Gothenburg. The CEO and heir to the popular Scandinavian consumer electronics retail chain Siba was discovered this morning in Slottsskogen Park in central Gothenburg. As Reuters notes , the businessman was spotted in the park by people going for a morning jog. They helped Bengtsson call the police, who arrived half an hour after the released businessman called. According to police, he is in satisfactory condition.

According to official data, the entrepreneur was released during a special operation carried out by local police, and no ransom was paid for his release. However, law enforcement agencies have not yet been able to catch the criminals. At the same time, it is unofficially reported that his relatives nevertheless transferred money to the criminals for the release of Bengtsson. The amount that the kidnappers demanded, according to unconfirmed reports, was $1.5 million (11 million crowns).

Fabian Bengtsson was held captive by criminals for about two weeks. He was kidnapped in Gothenburg on the morning of January 17 on his way to work. According to the police, the businessman left the house at 7.45 (9.45 Moscow time), but never showed up for work. Three hours later, his father, the owner of the corporation Bengt Bengtsson, received an SMS message from his son’s phone number on his mobile phone. The message said that his son was being held hostage. After this, Fabian Bengtsson's phone was switched off. The day after the abduction, police found a dark-colored BMW in the city center, in which Bengtsson had driven to work.

The kidnapping story became a real sensation for residents of the country, where such types of crimes are very rare.

They began searching for the businessman through Interpol ; the police assumed that the kidnapped person had been taken to Germany or Denmark. The corporation where Bengtsson works has strengthened employee safety and security measures. The entrepreneur's relatives appealed to the criminals on national television, and the appeal was also posted on the company's website. A few days later, the kidnappers got in touch and demanded a ransom for Bengtsson, Gothenburg police inspector Sven Ahlbin, who heads the investigation team, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

As noted by employees of Sweden's largest private security service, Securitas, the threat of such crimes in the country has recently increased sharply.

According to experts, the trend emerged after the son of another Swedish entrepreneur, 23-year-old Erik Westerberg, heir to the world's largest corporation producing seat belts and airbags for cars, Autoliv AB, was taken hostage in August 2002. The criminals released him only after a ransom, but four days after the hostage was released, the police detained the kidnappers. All of them were sentenced to 12 years in prison.

It is unknown whether law enforcement agencies will be able to detain and punish Bengtsson’s kidnappers. However, according to police representatives, now all efforts are aimed at finding the gang.