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Feature: Property tycoon in murder enquiry - 18/07/01 |
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Property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten, estimated to have a personal worth of £200m, has been released on bail after being questioned by police about a murder that occurred two years ago in South London. Scotland Yard said a 58-year-old man from Framfield, in East Sussex, had been held in connection with the murder of Mohammed Raja, who was shot dead outside his home in Sutton, south London, on July 2 1999. Another man, David Croke, who comes from the Brighton area, was charged with Mr Raja's killing earlier this year. Hoogstraten made his fortune by buying up cheap property in Notting Hill and Brighton. After an incident involving the blocking of a footpath on his estate near Uckfield in Sussex he became well known for his acerbic views on ramblers. He has described them as 'nosy perverts' and 'passing riff-raff'. Hoogstraten has also been happy to voice his opinions about his own tenants who he has said are "filth", and of council house tenants, who he has called "worthless and lazy". He is said to have financed his first property purchases from the £1,000 proceeds of selling his stamp collection. A millionaire by the time he was 20 he owned some 8,000 properties by the 1980s. He reportedly disposed of 90% of his properties in the 90's. He has business and property interests in Zimbabwe and is a supporter of President Robert Mugabe.
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Local Homes & Property London Homes & Property
2002 March February January 2001
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