The weeping wife of 64-year-old Bulgarian businessman Vene Sotirov, who was kidnapped Thursday night in Sofia, has said she would rather have herself being taken hostage.

"It is Easter today... If these people have hearts, I want to ask them to take me and bring my husband back. I don't want, I can't live without him. He is ill, he needs to take his medicines," Denitsa Sotirova told Darik Radio.

She denied reports of huge sums of debt piled up by Sotirov, saying their family owes money only to the banks, but adding they have been paying their installments regularly.

"I am not worried about me, I worry about my kids. My life is over, it's all the same to me any more. All this is so insulting...."

Asked whether she would be able to collect a huge sum of money in case she is contacted by the abductors, Denitsa Sotirova said:

"I don't know what to do. He was an executive director, he received a salary, he is not an owner as the company was a shareholder company. There is no ground for comparing the two cases of abduction," Sotirova said, referring to the recent kidnapping of another rich business owner, Kiro Kirov, who was released last week after his family paid a EUR 1 M ransom.

Vene Sotirov is a prominent businessman. The information system "Ciela" lists him as shareholder in over 10 companies and cooperative businesses.

Until 1995, Sotirov has been a member of the Board of the First East International Bank along with the "Slavya" Football Club President, Ventseslav Stefanov (Stefanov's son was kidnapped five years ago and his whereabouts are still unknown), the former Member of the Parliament from the National Movement for Stability and Progress Party (NMSP), Dimitar Lambovski and the businessman, Georgi Lyalev.

Up to 1996, Sotirov, has also been part of the management of the "Central Cooperative Bank."

In an interview on January 26, 2009 for the "Zemya" (Land) newspaper, Sotirov says that he has 10 stores, with the most profitable one being in Sofia's "Vrazhdebna" district with a monthly turnover of BGN 120,000. Sotirov further mentions stores in Sofia's "Buhovo" and "Dolni Bogrov" suburbs and stores in the town of Pernik and nearby villages.

At the end of 2008, Sotirov was involved in a business dispute, described in detail by the "Tema" magazine, and connected to one of Sotirov's companies, which is listed as the smallest Sofia transportation firm.

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