Gemballa files for insolvency
2010-02-24 08:50
Missing European Porsche tuning master Uwe Gemballa’s company has filed for insolvency.
The Leonberg concern, which is globally renowned for its elaborate Porsche styling embellishments and performance upgrades, has been in a state of flux since founder and owner, Uwe Gemballa (54), went missing soon after arriving in South African on February 8.
Since Gemballa’s disappearance in Johannesburg there has been a raft of rumour mongering, including a kidnapping and ransom scenario.
South Africa’s international reputation as a country besieged by opportunistic crime forced many to a preconceived conclusion that Gemballa had been kidnapped.
Money, money everywhere?
A day after Gemballa arrived in South Africa (ostensibly on business with an eye on opening up an agency for his conversions in the burgeoning local market) German police say he phoned his wife. Gemballa then requested a large sum of money to be wired to a bank account after he had apparently been involved in an accident…
Back in Germany though, allegations of tax evasion and financial mismanagement at Gemballa Automobiltechnik GmbH & Co gained momentum.
The presence of German authorities at the facility in Leonberg was made off as a regulation part of any missing person’s investigation by a Gemballa spokesperson, Ekkehard Krebs.
German authorities confirmed two police officers were dispatched to South African to assist local authorities with the investigation. South African Police Services spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo admitted, "there is no trace of him."
The future of Gemballa's outlandish cars and the company's 40 employees are very much in doubt.
Grandma takes over Gemballa?
The most troubling part of Uwe Gemballa’s mystery disappearance thus far are the public records. These came to light as a German court declared it had received an insolvency application from Gemballa Automobiltechnik GmbH & Co.
It would appear Uwe had some urgent business to attend to before he left for South Africa…
On 5 February, two days before leaving for Johannesburg, Uwe updated Gemballa Automobiltechnik GmbH & Co's records with details of a second company he had opened with exceptional expedience. His 79-year-old mother is listed as the sole stockholder of this new "venture" - cryptically named Gemballa Sports Cars GmbH & Co.
Uwe also gave his wife power of attorney before "disappearing" to South Africa, and it’s after her application that a court in Ludwigsburg appointed a provisional liquidator as of Tuesday.
It would appear Uwe Gemballa has enacted the action of one of his most famous creations, the Carrera GT Mirage - and simply disappeared into the heat haze of the African continent…
