British tycoon snubs Zim charges

2008-01-28 13:32

Harare - Controversial British property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten, accused in Zimbabwe of flouting foreign exchange laws and possessing pornography dismissed the charges on Monday as "a minor irritation".

"The charges are a deliberate and malicious entrapment scheme. I will deny them," said van Hoogstraten in a statement issued by a member of his defence team ahead of his initial court appearance.

"Since the matter is before the court, I will not make any further comment save to say that I regard this matter as a minor irritation. I am confident that on a proper examination of the facts and circumstances, I will be vindicated."

Van Hoogstraten, 63, was arrested on Thursday at his Harare home, where police said they found $37 586, R92 880, £190 and 180 Botswana pula, totalling the equivalent of about $51 000 dollars, as well as Z$20bn Zimbabwean dollars (66 500).

National police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena alleged that Van Hoogstraten - who owned more than 200 properties in Zimbabwe - had demanded six months' rent in foreign currency from his tenants.

Multi-millionaire convicted of manslaughter

Van Hoogstraten had a reputation in his native Britain as a ruthless property developer who bought thousands of slum properties and reportedly described his tenants as "filth".

The multi-millionaire was convicted in 2002 of manslaughter in the death of an associate, Mohammed Raja, and sentenced to 10 years in prison, in a verdict that was overturned the following year on appeal.

In 2005, Raja's family was awarded $12m in a civil case after the High Court ruled that, on the balance of probability, Van Hoogstraten had been involved in the killing by hiring two thugs.

Van Hoogstraten had spoken warmly of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, describing him as "100% decent and incorruptible".

In his statement, van Hoogstraten denied that he had fallen foul of the Mugabe regime, saying: "There is nothing political about my arrest.

"I would like to stress that the misconception, which might arise in the press or elsewhere that I have fallen out with the Zimbabwean authorities is utterly false."

Since October last year, Zimbabwe had faced a serious currency shortage blamed by the central bank chief Gideon Gono on cash barons whom he accused of hoarding Zimbabwe dollars and exchanging them for scarce foreign currency.

- AFP