{"id":2368,"date":"2011-03-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/amabhungane\/stories\/end-of-line-for-fugitive\/"},"modified":"2024-10-07T18:04:09","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T18:04:09","slug":"end-of-line-for-fugitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/end-of-line-for-fugitive\/","title":{"rendered":"End of line for fugitive?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Radovan Krejcir faces imminent arrest for insurance fraud following a deal between the authorities and a doctor who says he was forced to help the Czech fugitive get a R4.5-million payout by falsely claiming Krejcir was suffering from terminal cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plea and sentence agreement with Dr Marian Tupy — a Czech-born urologist — could also break the log jam in the investigation of the murder of German businessman Uwe Gemballa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tupy linked Krejcir to the murder in a statement made in May last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gemballa disappeared after being picked up at OR Tambo International Airport on February 8 last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krejcir has denied involvement in the murder, but new evidence seen by the Mail & Guardian<\/em> adds circumstantial backing to other allegations about his involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court signed off on a deal between Tupy and prosecutors in which he received a conditionally suspended sentence of seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the plea agreement, Tupy will serve as a state witness against Krejcir — including evidence about the fraudulent insurance claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the plea, Liberty Life paid out R4.57-million in July last year on a death and dread disease policy taken out by Krejcir in November 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other evidence seen by the M&G<\/em> shows the payment was made into an account held in the name of Groep Twee Beleggings, a company in the name of Krejcir’s wife, Katerina-Krejc\u00edrov\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, evidence suggests Krejcir exercises effective control over its affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his plea Tupy admits Krejcir was not suffering from cancer and that samples submitted for a histological test were not taken from him but from another patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In affidavits seen by the M&G<\/em> Tupy explains that he became acquainted with Krejcir after being introduced to him at the home of insurance broker Peter Faukal, who later sold the Liberty policy to Krejcir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He claims Krejcir first broached the “possibility of making a false diagnosis” in April 2008. As Krejcir increased his demands, Tupy made inquiries about the background of his patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I ascertained that he was alleged to be either the first or second in command of a Mafia-type organisation that was based in Eastern Europe, with its headquarters in Prague,” Tupy states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krejcir has previously scoffed at the suggestion that he is “some big Mafia boss”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tupy claims that he feared for his life and contacted forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was then that he drew up the May 2010 affidavit which described how Krejcir had appeared to confirm his involvement in Gemballa’s murder by drawing his hand across his throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a subsequent affidavit Tupy claims that, as the investigation intensified, Krejcir summoned him to a meeting on January 26 this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He showed me a statement I had previously made and told me that if he can prove I made that statement he would kill me, and he also said he would kill Paul O’Sullivan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From all of the above it must be clear that I acknowledge having broken the law but, under the circumstances, feel I had no alternative if I wanted to stay alive.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krejcir’s lawyer, Piet du Plessis, told the M&G<\/em> he was aware of the fraud investigation but could not comment until he had seen the Tupy documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phone records link Gemballa’s last call to Krejcir<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A day after German sports car dealer Uwe Gemballa disappeared from OR Tambo airport his wife, who was in Germany, received a phone call from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told Christiane Gemballa that there had been “a small accident” and asked her to assemble a sum of \u20ac1-million to be paid into an account that would be detailed later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She never heard from him again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, according to information obtained by the Mail & Guardian<\/em>, police have linked the cellphone used to call Christiane Gemballa to a close associate of Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Records obtained from the Vodacom network showed that the phone was loaded with two R110 recharge vouchers minutes before the call was made to Christiane Gemballa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom indicated that the vouchers were purchased from an outlet in the same shopping centre as the Harbour restaurant in Bedfordview, known at the time as Krejcir’s hangout of choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surveillance footage from the shop was used to identify the purchaser of the vouchers as a waitress from the Harbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is understood that the waitress, whose name is known to the M&G<\/em>, confirmed that she was sent by a customer to purchase the recharge vouchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waitress indicated to police she was in fear of her life if she revealed the identity of the person who sent her to buy the voucher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is understood that she later gave police a statement that there was a group of people at the Harbour that day, including Krejcir and a man described as his “treasurer”, known as “Michael”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waitress stated that Michael had sent her to buy the vouchers and she had handed them to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timeline established by former police investigator Ludi Schnelle is understood to show the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n