Overview
- Multiple news outlets, citing PTI and industry sources, report that 75-year-old Dhiru Ramani was freed in late July after his family paid about €4 million for his release.
- Ramani remains in Mali and local authorities are reportedly questioning him about the circumstances of his abduction and the payment.
- Sources say the kidnappers initially demanded nearly Rs 100 crore but the US-based family negotiated the amount down during private talks.
- Reports say Ramani had been living in Mali after acquiring a gold mine and that no Indian government agency was publicly involved in the negotiations.
- The case highlights worsening security for foreign investors in Mali, recalls an April advisory from the Indian Embassy in Bamako, and shows how private ransom payments can complicate investigations and future risk for expatriates.