A German found dead on Tonel beach, Sagres last February turns out not to have been just a normal holidaymaker who had suffered an accident.
Wolfgang Koszics was in fact instrumental in one of the most famous kidnappings in German history in 1996 and became rather a media star in Germany as a result.
Koszics’ body was found on the western Algarve beach on February 10th, 2014 and clearly had fallen from a great height. The Portuguese police said there was no evidence of a crime and later it was found that there was a high level of alcohol in Koszics’ blood. Koszics' body has been in cold storeage ever since.
That was that, a simple holiday accident or suicide, until the German authorities were informed of the death, since which their interest has been exceptional and two investigators are lined up to review all of the evidence.
A top policeman and the coroner Klaus Püschel, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Hamburg, are on stand-by.
The German authorities want to send this experienced team but of course will have to keep waiting while the request, sent in November 2014, is processed.
It sees certain that Wolfgang Koszics fell from the cliffs above Praia do Beliche and then drifted three kilometres to Praia do Tonel where his body was found the next day by a passer-by.
The Portuguese autopsy determined that death was due to injuries caused by the fall and that seemed to be that, until Koszics, aka ‘Fat Faruk’ due to his poor dietary discipline, popped up on the German police computer system.
Wolfgang Koszics was in fact a top gangster who had made history in Germany for helping to organise and execute the kidnap and ransom of multi-millionaire Jan Philipp Reemtsma, heir to a tobacco fortune.
Reemtsma's grandfather founded what became one of Germany's largest food and tobacco companies, bearing the family name. Reemtsma sold his majority stake in the business in 1980 for about $200 million to devote himself to literary and social causes.
Mr Reemtsma was overpowered outside his home in Hamburg in 1996 and taken to a cellar in Garstadt, near Bremen. The ransom money paid to win his release was a record sum for Germany.
The Germans are interested because most of the ransom money received for Reemtsma's release has never been accounted for.
Along with three accomplices, Koszics nabbed the millionaire in March 1996 and successfully made off with the ransom. He was arrested in Murcia, Spain two months later.
Extradited and tried the following year in Hamburg, Koszics was convicted and served 10 years and six months in prison.
The gang members have never let on if and where the money is hidden and only the equivalent of €665,000 was recovered from the estimated 15 million Deutschemarks and 12 million Swiss Francs paid out to secure Reemtsma’s release.
It is estimated that the ringleader of the gang, Thomas Drach, spent around €2.5 million on his defence. Drach had driven to Buenos Aires from Uruguay with his girlfriend to attend a Rolling Stones concert in 1998, and was seized by police who had tapped his phone.
Koszics may have known where the remaining money was, if there was any, and the circumstances surrounding his death have taken on a new aspect despite the available clues pointing to an accidental death or suicide.
But Koszics’ past, plus the media attention in Germany surrounding the Reemtsma case, raise questions that the prosecutors in Hamburg would like to see answered.
What is known is that the German kidnapper planned his trip to Portugal at least one month in advance, landing at Faro airport on February 6th, 2014. He rented a car and travelled to a luxury apartment in Sagres. During the four days until his death he was always seen alone.
On February 10th Koszics checked out. His car later was found near the cliff top above Praia do Beliche with the car key and documents placed in the glove compartment.
The Germans are not convinced this was a simple case of suicide. As the money never has been recovered the case still is open and their team want to review every aspect of the Portuguese investigation until they are satisfied that the demise of ‘Fat Faruk’ was indeed at his own hand.
