Qatari national pays $2m for release of royals in Iraq, says report

It was great shock the country listened to reports that 26 members of a Qatari hunting party were abducted while they were away on a hunting trip in Iraq.

The kidnapping, which was carried out by around 100 gunmen who raided the camp in several pickup trucks, have so far evaded arrests.

Last year, a Qatari member of hunting party, as well as another Asian, were released by the abductors.

While Qatar’s Foreign Ministry immediately swung into action, the Iraqi government categorically denied any part in the abduction.

After more than a year of no new developments, it has now come to light that a member of Qatar's ruling family has paid $2m to a Greek shoe salesman’s firm to secure ‘proof of life’ and ultimately free those abducted in Iraq.

Associated Press reported that the payment, disclosed in US Justice Department documents, shed new light on the case that that now involves hackers, encrypted Internet communication and promises of millions of dollars in ransom.

According to the news agency, Qatar’s Sheikh Khalifa bin Fahed bin Mohammed Al Thani signed a contract dated March 8 with a San Diego-based firm called Global Strategies Council Inc., according to documents filed to the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The contract called for a $2m payment up front.

The contract calls for the group ‘to obtain proof of life,’ speak to government agencies and ‘attempt to negotiate with captors for the release of captive members of the royal family of Qatar.’

Asked about the $2m payment, Qatar's Government Communications Office issued a statement saying the US firm was ‘retained by a Qatari citizen acting in a private capacity.’

“We consider the hostage issue in Iraq of the utmost importance and it remains our top priority,” the government said. “We continue to engage in securing their safe release.”

It’s unclear how the Qatari citizen came in contact with Global Strategies Council, which lists its director and CEO as Miltiade ‘Miltos’ Goudamanis, a Greek national who now holds US citizenship. Goudamanis works as international sales director for House of Brands, a San Diego-area shoe company, and is associated with a website called Naughty Monkey, which sells women's shoes.

In recent weeks, the group apparently backed hackers who started a social media campaign and launched a website seeking information on the kidnapped Qataris on the darknet, a part of the Internet hosted within an encrypted network and accessible only through specialized anonymity-providing tools.