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Kidnapped Greek magnate released

20 January 2009 08:42 (UTC +04:00)

Athensâ€“APA. Kidnappers freed an elderly Greek shipping magnate early Tuesday, eight days after abducting him at gunpoint from a seaside suburb of Athens, APA reports.
Periklis Panagopoulos, 74, was found in the Aspropyrgos industrial area outside Athens early Tuesday, police said in a statement. The magnateâ€™s wife, Katerina Panagopoulou, told private Alter television that her ailing husband was unharmed.
Press reports said Panagopoulosâ€™ family paid the kidnappers an undisclosed sum in ransom early Monday, but police could not immediately confirm that.
Three gunmen had snatched Panagopoulos and his driver from near the shipownerâ€™s home in the southern Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni on Jan 12. The kidnappers later left the driver tied to a tree but unharmed otherwise. Two vehicles used in the kidnapping were found burned a few hours later.
Panagopoulos founded Royal Cruise Line in 1971, with his ships offering cruises around the world. He later sold the company and founded Attica Group, a company that owned two of Greeceâ€™s largest ferry lines running routes within Greece and from Greece to Italy. He no longer runs the company.