OSLO (AFP) – The wife of a Norwegian multimillionaire missing for 10 weeks is believed to have been kidnapped and a large ransom has been demanded for her release, local media reported on Wednesday (Jan 9).

Married to a businessman who made his fortune in real estate and the energy sector, 68-year-old Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik disappeared on Oct 31, the Verdens Gang (VG) newspaper said.

A ransom of €9 million (S$14 million) in cryptocurrency has been demanded for her release, VG said.

The kidnappers have threatened to use violence against her if her family does not meet their demands, Norway’s newspaper of reference Aftenposten said, adding that there had been limited contact with the suspects.

Events like this are extremely rare in the wealthy Scandinavian country, which enjoys a generally low crime rate.

Norwegian police confirmed that “a woman in her late 60s is believed to have been kidnapped from her home in Lorenskog”, around 20km from Oslo, but did not disclose her identity.

Police were scheduled to hold a press conference later on Wednesday.

The missing woman’s husband, Mr Tom Hagen, 68, is Norway’s 172nd richest man, according to the magazine Kapital, with an estimated fortune of 1.7 billion kroner (S$354 million).

A real estate investor, he owns 70 per cent of electricity company Elkraft which he co-founded in 1992, Norwegian media reported.

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