Envoy’s Brother Freed for $3 Million : ‘World’s Richest Man,’ Emirates Diplomat, Pays Ransom

The kidnaped brother of a multibillionaire Arab diplomat was released unharmed in London today in exchange for a $3-million ransom paid in Beirut, Scotland Yard said.

A spokesman said Mohammed Sadiq Tajir was freed after being abducted in London 11 days ago. He is the brother of Mahdi Tajir, ambassador to Britain from the United Arab Emirates.

Police could not immediately say who was responsible for the kidnaping.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the ambassador’s wealth has been estimated at about $2.9 billion. In a taped interview Tajir said, “They say I am the world’s richest man. Well, I’m not going to deny it. I’m going to confirm it.”

Scotland Yard said the ambassador had been negotiating with an intermediary who spoke to him by telephone from New York, Geneva, Rome and Beirut, where the ransom was finally paid Thursday night.

The BBC newscast said the kidnap victim, who ran a travel agency opposite the posh Harrods department store, was last seen by his employees on Jan. 6, the day he was abducted.

The kidnapers sent the ambassador a handwritten note from Mohammed Sadiq Tajir accompanied by a photograph of him, the BBC said. The note said, “Dear brother, do the impossible to free me. Do not contact the police and expose me to death.”

The television report said the kidnapers first asked for $71.5 million but later agreed to the lower figure.

Mahdi Tajir, a short, impeccably dressed man, is a regular visitor to the most exclusive shops and night spots in London, Paris, Washington, Bonn and Dubai. In Britain alone he owns a string of properties, including a Scottish castle, country houses and glittering apartments in London.

The day after the abduction, BBC said, the intermediary phoned the ambassador from New York to make the first ransom demand. Three days later, the caller flew to Geneva and the ambassador sent a nephew to meet him in Switzerland with a bank draft.

The intermediary moved on to Beirut where the money was finally cleared Thursday night, BBC reported.