Big Greek industrialists are thinking of leaving the country and to manage their businesses from abroad due to the frequent abductions and the general uncertainty in the country. We are talking about the Greek business elite, people who are not only rich but intelligent and freedom loving, citizens of the world, who are not willing to live in fear in secured blockhouses. The news about the kidnapped shipping tycoon Pericles Panagopoulos worried this circle of people, who sought the services of security companies right away. In a statement for the media, many representatives of the big businesses said that they will not settle to live their lives in a way they don’t like it.

The abduction of Panagopoulos is the third ostensible kidnapping in Greece for the last six months. In the beginning of December, a famous cardiologist was kidnapped from his house – he is still missing. Police sources claim that they are optimistic about solving this case but they do not wish to give out more details. Few months ago, the owner of “Alumil” Giorgos Milonas was kidnapped on his way home in Thessaloniki. His family paid a 10 million Euros ransom and he returned home. Later on the police found the abductors and put them in jail. Milonas managed to get only 4 million Euros back from the paid ransom, the rest 6 million have vanished. Thessaloniki has a “tradition” in kidnapping businessmen but in Athens this has never happened until now.

Meanwhile the ransom for Pericles Panagopoulos increased to 100 million Euros. The abductors are pressing his relatives based on businessmen’s bad health, who has bone cancer, has diabetes, and has had a heart surgery. Also, his family is negotiating with the abductor alone and is not letting the police to interfere. The authorities have started searching for prints around the house of the victim, inspecting the burnt and abandoned cars of the criminals, and they have started talking to the witnesses. Because the abductors were carrying Kalashnikovs, the police believe they are either foreigners or at least a mixed group of Greeks and some foreigners. 

In the last 24 hours, two more murders in Athens shocked the Greek society. One Greek Egyptian, who was sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking, was kidnapped during his vacation and later found dead. Greek from a former Soviet Republic, owner of a car dealership was also found dead.