Industrialist’s abductors demand 50m euros

ATHENS – The kidnappers of a prominent Greek industrialist are asking for 50 million euros (N$615 million) to release him, police said yesterday.

George Milonas, 49, chairman of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece and CEO of aluminium company Alumil, was snatched at gunpoint late on Monday outside his home in the northern city of Thessaloniki by unknown assailants. “A person claiming to know Milonas’ whereabouts contacted his wife early this morning demanding 50 million euros for his release,” a police official who declined to be named told Reuters.Kidnappings in Greece are rare but the country suffered a spate of assassinations of businessmen and diplomats from 1975 to 2003, mostly the work of the now-dismantled November 17 group of extreme leftist urban guerrillas.Although the abduction of Milonas is not considered to be the work of urban guerrillas, authorities have not ruled it out.Roadblocks have been set up throughout the city and across northern Greece.Police have set up tight controls at the country’s northern borders with Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania to prevent the culprits fleeing.Milonas is married with three children and has been CEO of Alumil group since 1988.The business is active throughout Greece, the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.Trading in shares of Alumil was suspended on Tuesday.Milonas’s family have appealed to the press to avoid excessive coverage, which may hurt the police investigation.Nampa-Reuters”A person claiming to know Milonas’ whereabouts contacted his wife early this morning demanding 50 million euros for his release,” a police official who declined to be named told Reuters.Kidnappings in Greece are rare but the country suffered a spate of assassinations of businessmen and diplomats from 1975 to 2003, mostly the work of the now-dismantled November 17 group of extreme leftist urban guerrillas.Although the abduction of Milonas is not considered to be the work of urban guerrillas, authorities have not ruled it out.Roadblocks have been set up throughout the city and across northern Greece.Police have set up tight controls at the country’s northern borders with Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania to prevent the culprits fleeing.Milonas is married with three children and has been CEO of Alumil group since 1988.The business is active throughout Greece, the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.Trading in shares of Alumil was suspended on Tuesday.Milonas’s family have appealed to the press to avoid excessive coverage, which may hurt the police investigation.Nampa-Reuters