Russian law enforcement agencies freed the 20-year old son of Kasperky Lab's founder Eugene Kaspersky following a kidnapping last week, the leading anti-virus software firm said in a statement on Sunday.

No ransom was paid to free him, the company said.

Earlier media reports indicated Ivan Kaspersky, 20, was kidnapped on April 19 and that his abductors demand 3 million euros ($4.19 million) for his release.

Kidnappings of business people and their children are not uncommon in Russia, and wealthy Muscovites are usually accompanied by bodyguards.

Earlier a law enforcement source told Interfax news agency that Kaspersky was freed during a special operation.

To free I. Kaspersky a special operation was developed, during which the abductors were misled, the source told the agency.

A Moscow police spokesman told the agency that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the case.

Kaspersky is the world's fourth-biggest maker of secure content management systems, rivalling Symantec, McAfee Inc and Trend Micro.

The firm is considered to be Russia's most successful software start-up and President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kaspersky Lab last year in to showcase its success for international investors wary of the nation's investment climate.

U.S. private equity group General Atlantic in January took a roughly 20 percent stake in the firm for about $200 million, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by David Cowell)

Russia Dmitry Medvedev Software