Missing German Porsche tuner Uwe Gemballa is now under investigation by authorities in Stuttgart on suspicion of financial impropriety. Also, his family's suspended the reward for information regarding his whereabouts. Both revelations will turbocharge rumors he's not a kidnapping victim.
Gemballa, famous for tuning Porches and other exotics, was reported missing in mid-February after flying to Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon arrival, he immediately called his wife asking for money because of an "accident." This was the last anyone has reported hearing from Gemballa. However, since the first reports, we've learned he formed a new company with his mother before he left and filed for insolvency for his original one.
None of this is proof he's staged his disappearance, but this report from Auto Service Praxis that he's under investigation for not filing for insolvency in the appropriate amount of time — called "insolvenzverschleppung" (best financial crime name ever!) or "delayed filing for insolvency" — adds to the mountain of circumstantial evidence he was in financial trouble before he vanished.
There's also a report from Stuttgarter-Zeitung claiming police have returned from South Africa empty-handed. However, the report did add two key details. The first is that the man who met Uwe Gemballa at the airport was reportedly fugitive Czech billionaire Radovan Krejcir. The second — and probably more damning? His family's apparently suspended the 10,000 Euro reward for information regarding his location.
[Auto Service Praxis, Stuttgarter-Zeitung]
Photo Credit: Autobild.de