The wife of one of the wealthiest men in Norway has been missing and is allegedly a victim of kidnappers. The perpetrators have reportedly demanded the ransom to be paid in Monero (XMR).
$10M in Monero for Ransom
Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hage is the wife of Tom Hagen – one of the richest men in Norway. She has been missing since late October in 2018 and the police fears that she’s fallen victim to a kidnapping.
According to a local newspaper Romerikes Blad, someone who is claiming to be the kidnapper of Anne has requested a ransom in the staggering amount of 9 million euros or a little bit more than $10 million to release the woman.
The alleged ransom is as high due to the wealth of Anne’s husband – Tom. He is reported to have an estimated fortune of about $200 million, which is roughly around 1,7 billion Norwegian krone. This makes him the 172nd richest man in the country. His fortunes are reportedly coming from electricity speculation.
The kidnapper has supposedly requested for the ransom to be paid with Monero (XMR).
1% of Monero’s Market Cap
Interestingly enough, the demanded ransom represents a little bit more than 1 percent of the cryptocurrency’s total market capitalization. According to CoinMarketCap, XMR is currently sitting on a market cap of about $900 million – a far cry from its all-time high of near $5 billion at the beginning of 2018.
XMR is widely regarded as one of the most private and anonymous cryptocurrencies. Perhaps that’s the reason for which the kidnapper has supposedly requested the ransom to be paid using it in particular.
Some government officials have expressed their concerns regarding cryptocurrency-related crime. Live Bitcoin News reported that the City of London Police is exploring ways to educate fraud investigators on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and how they can be used for illicit activities.
What do you think about the case of the kidnapped millionaire’s wife and the Monero ransom? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock