No news about Uwe Gemball's condition or whereabouts.
However, I called Johannesburg. The police are now treating this as an active kidnapping investigation.

The local Johannesburg press has finally awakened:

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytim...icle318353.ece

Please pray for his safe return.

 

yikes, praying for his safe return............

 

hoping for his safe return but i hope hes not pulling something fishy...
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/23/w...med-under-mot/

BTW whos going to 2010 SA world cup... i for one am not ...

 

Let's see - The Gemballa company is bankrupt, he is running from the police with a fugitive from the Czech republic, is being sought by the BKA, and his wife offers 10,000 euros for anyone that knows his whereabouts.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ube...g/#more-346433

Doesn't sound like the usual kidnapping scenario to me.

 

Yeah reports are getting weirder and weirder, had his mother open up a company as the sole stock holder and wife with POA file his current operations for Bankruptcy.... then he disappears a few days later??!?! And he was seen with a billionaire fugitive.....

 

http://www.wheels24.co.za/Content/Ne...for_insolvency

 

There is not really much to report that is reliable.
But here is what we do know:

1. Uwe Gemballa left Dubai for Johannesburg on 2/8. he arrived safely. I communicated with Uwe on 2/7 while he was in Dubai about routine business stuff and everything seemed normal.

2. He spoke to his wife on 2/9 from his Joberg hotel and asked her to send 1 million Euros to some bank account somewhere.

3. Mrs. Gemballa called the police. The German Authorities dispatched two detectives to SA to help with the investigation.

4. Interpol, the German authorities and the South African authorities are still looking for him because he is no where to be found. He is feared kidnapped.

5. Mrs. Gemballa put the Gemballa company into receivership on 2/23.

6. There are zillions of press stories about alleged financial mis-dealings, tax evasion, new German Gemballa companies, etc., but the German authorities are clear that Mr. Gemballa is not wanted for any crime, of any sort. He is listed as a missing person.

7. Law enforcement authorities are always VERY RELUCTANT to talk about situations like this. If someone is kidnapped, they want to be sure that copycats don't try to collect ransom, etc, etc, etc.

My personal opinion: It is inconceivable that to me that Uwe Gemballa would go on the run in a place like South Africa and abandon his family, whom he adores. I confess that this opinion is colored by my relationship with him.

Furthermore, IMHO this defies logic:
If he was going on the run, wouldn't he arrange any big financial transactions, illegal or otherwise, before he left?
If he was going on the run, why would his wife involve the police?
If he was going on the run, why would he create a new German company before he left?
If he was on the run in South Africa, he wouldn't have to hide. SA is one of dozens of countries with no extradition treaty with Germany. (Many of these countries are very close to Germany, not 8000 miles away). He could have just skipped to SA with his money and his family and thumbed his nose at the world.

No, it is my opinion that Uwe Gemballa is being held against his will by person's unknown. There are many powerful entities trying to find him.
And I am very worried about him and deeply concerned for his safety.

 

Mike, I respect your thoughts since you seem to know him better than the blogs, but why would the wife put the biz in receivership (risk) if all was well there? Seems a bit odd.

Close the door (holiday) for a couple weeks, ok. But receivership seems harsh, unless that's common in Germany.

 

I find it odd that a man like him is only worth 1 million euros.

 

I just don't know.
We are/were a supplier to Gemballa and there was no hint of financial trouble in that respect. However, if there are banks involved, they may have called the loans when Uwe went missing. In that case, Mrs. Gemballa made the right move.
There are lots of things we just don't know. But the press has just been merciless in their attacks. I have never seen this kind of thing happen to someone I know, but it is simply chilling how far the press will go to make a story.
In the end, they may turn out to be right. Who knows? But to attack like this with very few facts is reprehensible.

 

they press might be ripping uwe apart but he has many supporters on many boards. I just hope that he turns up and that hes not making his loyal customers look like idiots defending him...

 

1 mill euros is only like 2 gemballa mirages ... seems quite low for a man like that

 

The latest news from South Africa on Uwe Gemballa is the same. He is missing and feared kidnapped. German and South African authorities and Interpol are still searching.
As I previously posted, time is not on your side if you are missing or kidnapped after three weeks. I am sure this is a terrible time for his family.

Please join me in praying for his safe return.

 

mike thanks for posting ...and keeping us updated ..

 

Agree