The Hostage Industry

Odd way to describe it, but New America Foundation fellow, Nicholas Schmindle's article on global kidnapping-and-ransom was an enjoyable read. Kidnapping-and-ransom, known in the biz as K&R, is one of the few industries booming in the tough economic times. While the price of oil may fluctuate, rich oil men seem to be reliably valuable commodities that bring plump returns. As a result, K&R insurance plans have become more ubiquitous for foreign companies operating in less stable nations, and K&R insurance premiums continue to rise. Strange.

Schmindle really captures how much of a business K&R. Here are some quotes that I liked:

If there’s any consolation to being abducted in Nigeria, it’s that kidnappers there seldom get violent. It’s purely business. “Someone’s going to pay them something; that they know,” Mark Courtney, a South African kidnapping-and-ransom consultant, recently told me. K.& R. consultants almost never get on the phone and haggle with kidnappers. Their expertise is devising the “target settlement figure,” taking into account numerous factors. Is the victim carrying anything that identifies him as working for a specific company? Are the kidnappers experienced? What was the amount of the previous ransoms paid in that city or state? “You go by what you know to be the going rate in that particular region,” Chase, of AKE, said.

The kidnapping-and-ransom-insurance industry thrives in a morally ambiguous space. But what is the alternative? “Fire insurance has been known to stimulate arson, and life-insurance policies have led to quite a few homicides, too,”

Three years ago, De Don graduated from college with a degree in political science. He considered “The Prince” his favorite book. While at school, he joined a campus gang known as the Greenlanders. When he couldn’t find work after graduation, he tapped into the Greenlanders’ alumni network and asked for help. Soon he was living in the creeks with fellow Greenlanders, part of a kidnapping syndicate.