Investigators have requested a Russian court to issue a formal arrest for five suspected kidnappers of the son of Russian software tycoon Yevgeny Kaspersky, Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on Monday.
Ivan Kaspersky, 20, was abducted last week while on his way to work where he was gaining experience as a computer programmer. Police spokesman Viktor Biryukov said that Kaspersky's son was freed on Sunday as a result of a raid in the Moscow Region, which involved riot police and Federal Security Service officers.
The five people suspected of being involved in the kidnapping were detained while being handed a ransom that they demanded for the release of the young man, the Vesti TV channel said. Media reports said the kidnappers demanded 3 million euros ($4.3 million) for Ivan's safe return.
A source told Russian daily Kommersant that the abduction was organized by a professional kidnapper. Kaspersky, CEO of global digital security company Kaspersky Labs, is estimated to be the 125th richest man in Russia with an $800-million fortune, according to Forbes.
The kidnappers had been following Ivan Kaspersky and his girlfriend for several months, Kommersant said. After being kidnapped, he was asked to call his parents and ask them to pay a ransom without calling police.
First, Yevgeny Kaspersky's friends from the Federal Security Service were negotiating the release of his son, but information then leaked to the media, posing a threat to Kaspersky junior's life, Kommersant said.
Kaspersky was safely released due to well-planned police tricks that misled the kidnappers, the paper said. The kidnappers were persuaded that the ransom will be paid and information was spread throughout Russian media that Kaspersky had already been released and that his family had asked law enforcers not to get involved to avoid publicity.
Ivan is said to be in good health. Police are continuing their search for possible accomplices in the Moscow Region. The abductors face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Natalya Kasperskaya, the mother of the kidnapped man, has expressed her gratitude to the investigators and security officers who helped release her son.
"We should install a monument in honor to the Moscow Criminal Investigation officials!" she said in a message on Facebook. "The Federal Security Service has also helped a lot. Thanks to everyone who supported us in this difficult time."
MOSCOW, April 25 (RIA Novosti)
