Three months in captivity: Surat Diamond Tycoon Believed Freed in Mali After ₹45 Crore (€4 Million) Ransom Payment

A veteran Surat diamond industrialist is believed to have been freed by captors in Mali after his family reportedly paid a heavily negotiated ransom of ₹45 crore (€4 million). Industry sources and regional media reports indicate that 75-year-old Dhiru Ramani, along with his cook and an electrician, were successfully released following a gruelling three-month captivity in the West African nation.

The abductors, strongly suspected to be part of a radical terrorist network linked to Al-Qaeda, had initially demanded a staggering ₹100 crore shortly after taking the men hostage. To safeguard the lives of the three captives, Ramani’s family chose to bypass official government security or external diplomatic channels entirely, handling the high-stakes talks privately from the United States through proof-of-life video calls.

The ordeal originally began approximately three months ago when armed, unidentified individuals ambushed and abducted Ramani and his staff directly from a project site in Mali. The veteran businessman, who operates Ramani Export in Surat and owns CBD Diamond and Jewellery showrooms in New York, had relocated to the West African country two years prior to manage and monitor a large-scale gold mining investment.

While the news of the release has brought immense relief to the Ramani family and the global diamond trade, the incident has severely heightened anxiety among Indian entrepreneurs. The abduction underscores the severe security risks highlighted in recent travel advisories from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which explicitly warned nationals about the rising threat of targeted kidnappings in conflict-prone African territories.