EUR 1 mln ransom for Kuwaiti businessman missing in Romania since 2015

Three years have passed, and still there is no trace of the missing Kuwaiti businessman, Mohammed al-Baghli.

Anxious to find out his whereabouts, the millionaire’s family is providing a 1 million euro ransom to anyone who will aid in the quest to find the missing man.

“To better encourage the people to give us information to find out what happened to our father, the ransom will be increased to 1 million euros during one single month, in August,” the family said.

Mohammed al-Baghli, disappeared under mysterious circumstances on the August 5, 2015 at 2:30 pm. He was last seen in taking a walk in Cheia where he owns a vacation home. Ever since, Romanian and Kuwaiti authorities have exerted conmbined efforts to find out about Baghli’s fate. No conclusions have been reached so far.

Ibrahim al-Baghli, the missing businessman’s brother, is confused how a case in such a small town, with a limited number of interconnected inhabitants, such as Cheia ,has not been resolved yet. ‘‘We think the investigation must focus on the Cheia locality, and particularly around the spot where my brother had gone missing,” he said.

A significant clue or a mere coincidence?

The interior minister at the time, Petri Tuba, was in charge of Mohammed al- Baghali’s case from the beginning. Around the same time of Baghali’s disappearance, a small plane had also gone missing in the same area. Tuba managed to pinpoint the plane’s crash point, which would somehow draw investigators closer to the Baghali case. Security forces believe that the Kuwaiti businessman was kidnapped and transported via the plane beyond the borders of Cheia and the Prahova county.

The plane was found completely destroyed, and it was revealed that the plane’s pilot deliberately disrupted the air’s navigation and surveillance system, according to Al Rai news agency.

Al- Baghli’s family deny the glider as the cause of his disappearance. Local and international efforts have been involved in the case, including talks with Interpol. All drivers who used the highway connecting Cheia to other major cities during Baghli’s time of disappearance were questioned.

The most expensive missing person

The search for Mohammed al-Baghli, is recorded as the most costly case in the world. The full-blown search included satellite imagery, as well as underwater submarine navigation to search nearby lakes. Despite being prohibited under Romanian law, some trees have been cleared to ease the search in forests.

Al- Baghli’s family will maintain the ransom to the initial offer price of 500,000 euros after August.