14 DAY TRIAL // According to reports in Russian media, the son of Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene Kaspersky was released by his kidnappers after his family paid an unknown ransom.
Russian news website Life News, which also broke the story of Ivan Kaspersky's kidnapping, reports that the 20-year-old teenager was released.
The site quotes a source close to the investigation as saying: "The ransom for Ivan was paid. I don't know the amount, but it appears he's back."
According to previous reports, Ivan Kaspersky was kidnapped in north-west of Moscow on April 19 while on his way to work.
He is employed at InfoWatch, a company run by his mother, Natalya Kaspersky, co-founder and former CEO of Kaspersky Lab.
Eugene Kaspersky flew from London to Moscow on Wednesday night, reportedly after the kidnappers contacted him and asked for €3 million ($4.3m) in ransom.
Kaspersky's personal fortune is estimated at $800 million and he was named by Forbes as the 125th richiest person in Russia.
The news of Ivan Kaspersky's kidnapping or release haven't been confirmed by his parents or their companies. InfoWatch declined to confirm or deny the reports, while Kaspersky Lab went even further and asked the media to stop speculating because it is hurting its business.
"Kaspersky Lab calls on the media to stop spreading rumors and speculation about the events related to the family members of Yevgeny Kaspersky. Yevgeny Kaspersky is working normally, but he commented that the information being circulated is harmful for the company," the company said earlier today.
Nevertheless, Life News claims that several sources have independently confirmed that Ivan has returned home after the ransom was paid yesterday. We can only hope this is true or that Ivan wasn't even kidnapped in the first place.