CANDICE BAILEY, ANGELIQUE SERRAO AND THANDI SKADE
IAN JORDAAN, the lawyer of slain Teazers boss Lolly Jackson, was kidnapped and forced to transfer R1.8 million from Jackson’s estate into his kidnappers’ account. Then he was set alight in his bakkie, which was found at about 9pm on Tuesday on the Broederstroom Road, near Hekpoort, West Rand.
Jordaan’s body was reportedly on top of the overturned vehicle.
He was a close friend of Jackson’s and the strip club boss’s widow, Demi. He had represented Jackson for several years and was winding up Jackson’s multimillion-rand estate when he was killed.
Last May, Jackson was gunned down in a hail of bullets at a Kempton Park house that his alleged killer, Cypriot George Smith (aka Georgios Louka), was renting.
Last night, Eyewitness News reported that Jordaan was lured to a meeting with a client.
According to the report, a driver was sent to his office to collect his laptop so that the R1.8m could be transferred.
The Star has established that the money Jordaan was forced to transfer, was money Jackson had placed in Jordaan’s trust years before he was murdered.
The source said what was fascinating was that very few people were aware of the existence of this money in the trust account.
Last night, Demi Jackson was tight-lipped, and would reveal only that she had got a call at 6am yesterday about the grisly find.
Jackson said she had spoken to Jordaan two weeks ago, and he had e-mailed her last week.
“He was such a soft, sweet person. He was going to get married next year.”
Former Teazers spokesman Shaun Newman said he knew Jordaan well and the lawyer was helping him with the legal aspects of a book he is writing about Demi Jackson, and everything that happened just before and after Jackson’s death.
Newman said the deal for the book was signed yesterday afternoon and he had been in the middle of a celebration when he heard about Jordaan’s death.
“He was the nicest man. It feels like Lolly has died all over again.”
Newman said Jordaan was the first person he turned to when he needed help, and when Demi had filed legal papers against him and the writing of the book, Jordaan was there to offer him advice.
“We agreed that no matter what happened, we would have a drink afterwards and remain friends. He was that type of man, always friendly and he kept his work separate,” said Newman.
He said Jordaan and Jackson were always at each other’s houses.
“He always ended his conversations saying ‘Ever so grand like a bicycle stand’, as your late boss would say,” said Newman.
“This is sick and twisted.”
Jordaan’s ex-wife, Judith Eckersley, said she was devastated by the news of his death, but did not want to say more.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said that a body was found two days ago in a car that had overturned and burnt on Broederstroom Road near Hekpoort.
“The body was burnt beyond recognition and the registration of the car was not clear, so we do not know who the vehicle belonged to,” he said.
Dlamini added that the bakkie was a Colt Rodeo.
An inquest docket had been opened a the Hekpoort police station, he said.
Smith, allegedly Jackson’s righthand “muscle man”, went into hiding before secretly fleeing South Africa a month after Jackson died.
At the time of his death, Jackson was being investigated for laundering millions of rands, allegedly with the help of a senior bank manager in Joburg.
It is believed Jackson was working with multimillionaire Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir to take money out of the country, while Smith brought in the money.
Jordaan was a partner at the Norwood law firm Jordaan & Wolberg Attorneys.
He drove an Aston Martin and a double-cab bakkie.