Security consultant Tommi Nyström says wealthy people in Finland are becoming more prone to kidnapping attempts.
“Many assailants check out published earnings of wealthy individuals and make a 'hit list' of potential victims,” he notes.
Nyström says criminals think like businessmen. They try to locate easy victims whose kidnapping will pay off big. As an example, he says a plan to kidnap the son of Sampo Bank group’s major owner, Björn Wahlroos, did not come as a surprise.
Finland's most famous kidnapping case occurred in the summer of 2009, when the heiress of the Herlin industrial dynasty was held hostage in Turku.
Minor kidnapping incidents are on the increase, where a victim is abducted off the street and assaulted until they give up baking PIN codes, Nyström says.
”Such incidents are reported in the papers after most weekends. A person is kidnapped and their bank accounts are emptied. Afterwards the victim wakes up in another city,” Nyström adds.
From a criminal’s viewpoint, such kidnappings are profitable compared to the penalties, which are far less serious than those for drug-related offences.
Executives interested in security
Senior corporate executives are also feeling less safe these days. Many companies, Nyström notes, regularly assess their own personnel security strategy.
”Awareness has improved and almost every week I speak with clients about their own and corporate security. We determine what information about executives and their movements is publicly available,” Nyström informs.
Tommi Nyström adds that disbelief persists in Finland as to the necessity of personal security. He notes that children of senior executives often fear security arrangements for parents are a means of spying on their own activities.