German supercar mogul Uwe Gemballa has been held and murdered at a home east of Johannesburg, which is believed to have been rented by Bulgarian businessman Ivan Savov, according to local media reports.

"Police say Gemballa was held at Savov's home in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, before he was killed. Savov denies this," the South African edition of Sunday Times reported.

Gemballa vanished after arriving in SA in February. His body was found in September in Atteridgeville, east of Pretoria.

Two weeks ago, police secured the speedy prosecution of 29-year-old Thabiso Mpye. He was arrested and convicted within 24 hours.

Confirmation that the tycoon had been murdered in SA came just four months after Lolly Jackson, the strip club king, was shot dead in Johannesburg.

Savov told the newspaper he was clueless as to how he had become a key figure in the Gemballa murder, saying the two had never met.

Savov said that he and his family had travelled extensively during that time. "I have been away for lengthy periods, but I did not leave keys to my house with anybody, so it's unlikely that anyone came into my house without me knowing," he said, adding that his house had been renovated over the year.

The father of two told the Sunday Times that police searched his home on October 5 for forensic evidence in connection with the murder. He said his life had been turned upside down since. "My kids get taunted at school and they want to know what's been going on in our house, like where the body was kept. This is crazy," he said.

Savov said he co-operated fully with the police, who took his laptop and hard-drive. "I gave them whatever they wanted as I have nothing to hide. But, I have been told that my laptop and hard-drive have gone missing."

He admitted to being a friend to both Jackson and his alleged killer, George Louka, but said that he believed it was only through working for some of the Krejcir family's businesses that he had been dragged into the investigation.

Savov, who has a company, Scara Technologies, said that Krejcir's wife, Katerina, was one of his clients. "I do everything from bookkeeping to project management, which means drawing up business plans for clients. That's the type of work I do for Katerina," he said. "But after this I have lost big business, including a ?500000 contract to bring cigarettes and cigars into SA."

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