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More companies are turning to K&R insurance to protect their employees.
Proof of Life, a December 2000 Warner Brothers movie, is a kidnapping drama dealing with the abduction of corporate employees by rebel groups seeking ransom money. The movie was based on the memoir The Long March to Freedom by kidnapped employee Thomas Hargrove and William Prochnau's book Adventures in the Ransom Trade.1 Hargrove's and Prochnau's books give great insight into many of the angles of the kidnap and ransom (K&R) industry, which has become a growing threat to an increasingly broad group of companies and their employees.
Prochnau describes "fast-food kidnappings," in which middle-class businessmen are held for quickly paid ransoms of $30,000 to $60,000. He also describes "express kidnappings," in which the victim is taken from one ATM to the next, withdrawing the maximum amount of cash each day until the accounts are emptied and the victim is freed. "Amateur kidnappings" are by far the most difficult to deal with because they are committed by freelance opportunists who are oblivious to the unwritten rules that can help assure a safe release.2
K&R Frequency
Since 1980, more than a billion dollars has been paid out in ransom for kidnapped executives. It is difficult to compile accurate statistics on global kidnappings because of the shroud of secrecy surrounding kidnappings, ransom payments, K&R insurance policies and professional negotiators.3 The secrecy is a double-edged sword. The extent and seriousness of the crimes are masked, which gives a false sense of security. At the same time, when kidnappings are reported, an increase in ransom dollars usually follows. If insured parties were identified, the number of kidnaps would certainly rise.
The global estimate is that between 10,000 to 15,000 kidnappings occur per year. Of these, more than 80% are in Latin America, with a large percentage involving ransom.4 However, most specialists agree that only about 50% of all kidnappings are reported.5 The general consensus among researchers includes unofficial estimates of 3,000 to 4,000 kidnaps yearly in Colombia, 1,500 to 3,000 in Mexico, 1,200 in Brazil, followed by the rest of Latin America. Russia, Indonesia and the Philippines ranked as numbers five, six and seven in 1997, but by 1999 China, Pakistan and the former Soviet republics moved into...