Norwegian billionaire receives message about missing wife from suspected captors

Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen has been missing since 31 October last year

Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen went missing from her family home near Oslo on 31 October last year (AP)

One of Norway’s richest men has received a message about his missing wife from those who are believed to have kidnapped her.

Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik Hagen has been missing since 31 October last year, after she disappeared from her home in Lørenskog, just outside Oslo.

She is married to Tom Hagen, a property mogul and owner of Scandinavian power giant Elkraft AS, who is estimated to be worth nearly 1.7 billion kroner (£152m).

A note was found in the couple's house describing what would happen to the 68-year-old if a demanded ransom was not paid by Mr Hagen.

Norwegian media said the ransom was €9m (£7.8m) and must be paid in cryptocurrency.

Mr Hagen’s lawyer said on that on 16 January a message was received that appeared to be from Ms Hagen's captors but it “did not include a sign” that she was alive.

"The digital platform on which the message arrived is not suited for it to be answered and that is the reason for me standing here today and me saying what I am saying," lawyer Svein Holden said.

He declined to give further details, including whether there had been further contact, and police declined to comment.

"The family is now strengthened in their hope that Anne-Elisabeth is alive and wants to do what we can to make her come home safely," Mr Holden added.

"We want to establish better contact with those who have Anne-Elisabeth."

Police were informed about Ms Hagen's disappearance on 31 October but did not publicly speak about it until 9 January, after which hundreds of tips poured in.

Witnesses saw men with cameras with long lenses on the edge of the lake adjacent to the Hagen house, and in recent days divers have searched the waters for possible clues, police said.

Mr Hagen - a real estate investor and owner of power facilities - is number 172 on a list of Norway's wealthiest people published by the financial magazine Kapital.

Additional reporting by agencies