Mystery millions revive talk of 'faked death'

The murder mystery surrounding Jeff Wiggill, the fast-living businessman gunned down in 2013 on a dusty road outside Soweto, just got a whole lot more complicated.

Wiggill was slain in the most sensational corporate assassination since the death of Brett Kebble, shortly before it emerged that his company had swindled South Africa's top banks out of hundreds of millions.

But the revelation today that Wiggill's name is on the list of South Africans who held secret accounts in Switzerland is likely to rock corporate South Africa - especially because Wiggill's company, First Strut, was in debt to the tune of a mind-blowing R4-billion when he was killed.

Wiggill, who owned eight properties, including a R10-million mansion in Westcliff, Johannesburg, lived an extraordinarily luxurious life - apparently all of it on other people's money.

The existence of the Swiss bank account is set to breathe new life into the rumour that he faked his death and fled overseas to live on funds he had secreted abroad. The conspiracy would have meant he escaped a lengthy period in prison for fraud.

"A lot of the creditors believe he is in Russia," Leon Kapp, CEO of First Tech and one of the whistle-blowers on Wiggill's fraud, said then.

It appears that between R500-million and R900-million of First Tech's money cannot be accounted for.

"Jeff must have got it out [of the country]," said one of the other executives who worked with him, who agreed to talk off the record.

Gail Warricker, liquidator of Wiggill's personal estate, said this week she knew nothing of the Swiss account, but would find out more about it.

Wiggill had personally signed surety of R1-billion to banks, including Nedbank and the Bank of China.

Just months before he was shot, Wiggill changed his will and the beneficiaries of his life insurance policies. He named his partner of nine years, 30-year-old Alex Klencovljevic, as the major beneficiary.

But Discovery initially refused to pay out the life policy, leading to a spat with Klencovljevic. In court papers, Klencovljevic said: "Wiggill and I lived a lavish lifestyle ... I and Wiggill's adopted children wanted for nothing."

The payout was "desperately needed ... to continue to support the four adopted children of Wiggill". He and Wiggill adopted five children between them. The life insurance has since been paid out.

At the time of his death, Warricker said, Wiggill's personal assets amounted to just R50-million.

Klencovljevic would not comment this week.