Austrian Police Arrest Man Who Blackmailed FBI Over Bomb Attacks

Published November 17, 2014

Police arrested a 42-year-old Austrian man for trying to blackmail the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with information about alleged bomb attacks, an Austrian counterterrorism bureau said Tuesday.

The suspect emailed the FBI and two major U.S. newspapers Friday demanding an immediate payment of $367,200, followed by another of $1.2 million to be paid into a bank account in the United States, southern Austria's Styrian security and counterterrorism bureau said in a statement.

In exchange for the money, the man said he would provide information about four bombs that were bound for the United States, as well as a list of 200 potential suspects.

Police in the southern Austrian state of Styria, contacted by U.S. and Austrian authorities, arrested the man on Saturday near Knittelfeld, after arranging a meeting with him ostensibly to hand over the money.

The man confessed and was charged with extortion, police said.

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