Page 53 - SyI Quarterly 7

High-profile kidnaps for ransom, albeit rare, experience hardship in their countries of origin
do occur in Europe – in many cases linked
to other issues such as personal disputes or
debts. Nonetheless, these are highly organised
and sophisticated, requiring long periods of
surveillance, including social media activity, as
well as in-depth planning. Demands in these
cases are normally in the several millions of
dollars, with outcomes not always positive for the
victims, given the great stakes for kidnappers. For
example, in August 2015, the teenage daughter
of a wealthy German businessman was killed
within hours of her kidnapping. The kidnappers,
who had nonetheless demanded a ransom of
USD 1 million from her family, confessed after
their arrest they had killed her for fear she would
identify them if they released her.
Meanwhile, kidnapping events linked to common
criminality are not uncommon, including
methodologies such as virtual and express
kidnapping, given that no sophistication is needed
to carry out these operations. These kinds of
incidents have increasingly been reported across
large European urban centres, and are mostly
conducted by foreign criminal groups. Virtual
kidnapping is particularly prominent in Spain.
Whilst this phenomenon was still called “very
unusual” by the Spanish authorities in 2015, by
2020 over 50 cases were being registered in the
country every week. The modus operandi has
not changed since then, with criminals mostly
making random phone calls and pretending to
have kidnapped a relative of the call recipient.
However, the amounts demanded have changed.
In 2015, demands ranged between €350 and
€5,000, whereas now demands typically start at
€1,500 and can reach tens of thousands of euros. groups have been responsible for acts of violence
The great majority of these cases have been
traced to Latin America. However, more calls are
being traced to Spanish territory as this crime
becomes more popular.
Kidnaps in Europe are traditionally linked to
business or personal disputes, or are a result
of the victim’s associations with the criminal
underworld. Having said that, most victims
recorded in the region in recent years have been
illegal immigrants abducted by human traffickers,
particularly at entry points to the continent, such
as Greece, Italy and Spain, but also extending
along migrant routes. This trend has been more
evident since 2016, though with incident levels
fluctuating. However, since March 2020, there
has been a notable lull in the frequency of these
events, as movement restrictions have become
more stringent as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. This phenomenon may intensify
in the not-so-distant future as more people
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due to the coronavirus economic crisis and as
travel restrictions start to ease. The kidnapping
of migrants is predominantly carried out by
transnational non-European criminal gangs,
which typically target their victims at points of
origin, offering safe passage and/or work in
Europe. Their undertakings are endorsed and
facilitated by local mafias that, for a percentage
of the proceedings, liaise with corrupt authorities
and provide protection. Victims commonly face
physical torture to pressure their relatives into
paying ransoms, typically ranging between €1,000
and €4,000, and suffer captivity periods of two
weeks or more. While human trafficking and the
kidnapping of migrants are not activities likely
to affect commercial operations and visitors to
the region, they are certainly a reflection of the
criminal environment and a potential threat,
should these groups expand their criminal
activities.
Likewise, incidents related to Europe’s criminal
underworld remain a feature of the region’s
kidnappings, even during the pandemic. Debts,
financial disputes and group rivalries remain the
most common motivations in these instances.
Such kidnaps are however targeted, and thus
unlikely to directly affect unsuspecting travellers
or expatriates. Kidnaps linked to extortion are
also a feature in countries with a strong presence
of well-organised mafias, which have a significant
influence on the local security environment. While
this can take place anywhere in the region, such
incidents are most common in former Soviet
republics, where organised crime remains one
of the main security concerns. There, criminal
in various cities across Europe, and while such
attacks are localised in nature, there is a collateral
risk for bystanders. While COVID-19 resulted in
a temporary lull in violent crime in the region in
2020, this improvement proved only transitory
as crime rates are once again rising. Organised
criminal groups, which initially faced broken
supply chains, shrinking revenues and shifting
markets, have proved resilient, quickly adapting
to the new situation. In this context, an increasing
number of kidnapping incidents has been noted
since the last quarter of 2020. These however,
remain in line with previously observed trends,
with most of the victims being linked to criminal
activities.
Politically motivated kidnappings also occur
frequently, linked to the many regional conflicts
or those of a more international nature. This is
particularly evident in Ukraine, where the Crimean
conflict has significantly shaped the country’s