Norwegian Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen (68) has been missing since October 31st last year according to the Norwegian Police . Her husband, Tom Hagen, is Norway’s 172 richest person according to Kapital. Serious threats have been made by what appears to be the kidnappers, which is why the police has kept a low profile since they started investigating the missing person case in November 2018.
The police explain that they have chosen to go public as their massive investigation has produced few leads. They need more information and believe the public might be able to help.
According to the Norwegian Newspaper VG.no , Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen was attacked in her own bathroom ten weeks ago. There are no signs of a forced entry, but the police have found evidence in the house.
Anne-Elisabeth’s husband, Tom Hagen, arrived an empty home October 31st where he found a written letter. The letter was written in Norwegian with spelling errors. The threat note demanded a 9 million euro ransom to be paid in the anonymous cryptocurrency Monero. The threat note went on and claimed that Anne-Elisabeth would be murdered if the police got involved. That’s why the police think they are dealing with a kidnapping case.
There has been no sign of life from Anne-Elisabeth since October 31st. The police believe the kidnappers were after Tom Hagen’s wealth. Tom Hagen is presently worth 1.7 billion NOK which equal 200 million USD. Tom Hagen is a real estate investor and owns 70% of a major energy company in Norway (Elkraft).
The police have few clues to whom the kidnappers are. There were no surveillance cameras near the house, but surrounding recordings of traffic have been secured.
The police have not been able to conduct important technical studies publicly as they were afraid of alerting the kidnappers.
Our goal is to find the woman alive and reunite her with her family. In serious crime cases, time is an important factor. We depend on tips that can help us come closer to finding Anne-Elisabeth.
Including multiple police districts, the Norwegian Police have involved Europol and Interpol in trying to solve the case. Norwegian news sites have been aware of the kidnapping case for a longer period of time, but has been asked to withhold information from the public.
VG.no reports that Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen’s family has been chasing possible conflicts and relations that could be linked to the disappearance.
Last fall, her husband Tom Hagen was involved in a lawsuit through Financial Funds, where he is a co-owner. Employees in the brokerage firm Pareto and a consultant for the Russian steel company Severstal are indicted for fraud and market manipulation after 12 investors sold shares in the mining company Crew Gold Corporation for a price guarantee.
Later, Pareto bought stocks on behalf of an anonymous client. The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime believes the client was Severstal and that previous investors were conned. Tom Hagen and his business partner Fredrik Daulemani Sneve lost 37 million NOK on the deal, according to the indictment.
However, the police investigation has not uncovered any connection between the trail and the disappearance of Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen.
Image from the Norwegian Police.