Krejčíř charged in South Africa

Fugitive businessman Radovan Krejčíř, who has been on the run since 2005 and faces three separate jail sentences in the Czech Republic, has appeared in court in South Africa after turning himself in to local police.

Krejčíř, 42, is to face trial in connection with an alleged fraud in which he is accused of obtaining the equivalent of 11.4 million Kč from a health insurance company, Liberty Life, after telling them he had terminal cancer.

He may also face more serious charges in the future, as it has been widely reported he may have been involved in as many as three murders of high-profile criminals in South Africa in the past year.

The killings include that of German businessman Uwe Gemballa, an alleged money launderer and reported associate of Krejčíř who was found strangled last October.

Krejčíř reportedly admitted to his doctor that he killed Gemballa, the South African daily Mail & Guardian reported online March 26.

Krejčíř's name also figured in the investigation into the May 2010 murder of "Lolly" Jackson, owner of a local network of strip clubs, the paper said.

Krejčíř's lawyers have said he gave himself up after reaching a private agreement with Anwar Dramat, the head of a specialist police unit known as the Hawks.

The move came just days after reports emerged linking him to March 22's murder of a local mob boss named Cyril Beeka. Beeka was reportedly a business partner of Krejčíř's before relations between the two soured.

The Hawks raided Krejčíř's home east of Johannesburg the day after the killing, finding a hit list of four individuals apparently in his sights, including Beeka.

"The suspect had drawn up a hit list of four individuals. Cyril Beeka, who was allegedly at the top of the list, was gunned down in Cape Town a couple of days ago," Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela told The Times of South Africa.

The other three were state prosecutor Riegal Du Toit; security consultant Paul O'Sullivan, who helped the Hawks investigate Krejčíř; and urologist Marian Tupy, who has said he helped Krejčíř submit the false insurance claim.

At a pre-trial hearing March 28, the Johannesburg Magistrates Court agreed with state prosecutors Krejčíř should be moved to a different prison to make sure he is separate from other parties accused in the Gemballa case.

Du Toit attended the hearing under the protection of four armed policemen. Krejčíř's wife, Kateřina, and son Denis were also present, the Mail & Guardian reported.

Krejčíř is due to appear in court again April 7 for a bail hearing.

Tereza Palečková, a spokeswoman for the Justice Ministry, said meanwhile the extradition proceedings against Krejčíř remained under way, the Czech News Agency reported.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com