Investigation Into Disappearance of Porsche-Tuner Gemballa Continues

The internet has become a rich source of speculation over the disappearance of Uwe Gemballa. The founder of the Porsche tuning company Gemballa disappeared after arriving in the South African city of Johannesburg more than two weeks ago. According to German police reports, Gemballa telephoned his wife in Germany shortly after arriving on February 8, informing her to transfer a million euros to a particular bank account. Police say the 51-year old stated he’d had an accident and needed a large sum of money. Since then he has not been able to be contacted.

South African and German authorities are working together with Interpol to find Gemballa. South African police spokesperson has described the investigation as being at a “sensitive” stage. Yet rumours now abound – has Gemballa been the victim of a kidnapping in one of the world’s most dangerous cities, or is his disappearance an attempt to avoid the consequences of tax evasion at home in Germany, as some websites are reporting?