Hoogstraten ordered his rival’smurder, a judge rules
Property baron faces £6m payout to family of man he ‘hired thugs to kill’
PROPERTY tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten was branded a ruthless killer by a High Court judge yesterday – two years after he was cleared of ordering the execution of a business rival. The decision opens the way for the family of Mohammed Raja to claim £ 6million from the multimillionaire.
It also raises the possibility of a retrial – although the police have said they are not reopening the case. Mr Raja, who had been suing Hoogstraten over a business deal, was stabbed and shot to death in front of his family at his home in July 1999.
Robert Knapp and David Croke, who were alleged to be working for Hoogstraten, were jailed for life for the murder in 2002.
Hoogstraten was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for ten years but was cleared on appeal a year later when his lawyers successfully argued that errors were made by the original trial judge. On his release, Hoogstraten challenged the award for compensation which Mr Raja’s family had won.
But yesterday Mr Justice Lightman ruled that there was ‘overwhelming’ evidence that Hoogstraten ‘recruited two highly dangerous thugs’ to murder Mr Raja in order to halt the civil action the 62-year- old was bringing against him.
‘ Nothing less than murder would rid Mr van Hoogstraten of this thorn in his flesh,’ said the judge.
‘I am satisfied that the recruitment of the two thugs was for the purpose of murdering Mr Raja and not merely frightening or hurting him.
‘The use of two violent thugs armed with a shotgun was more than was needed to frighten or injure him. The second shot was deliberately aimed at killing him.’
Hoogstraten later boasted about the murder ‘and threatened a repeat if aggravated in the future’. The judge said that the 60- year- old clearly recruited the thugs to resolve his problems with Mr Raja for good.
He said he reached his conclusion ‘on the balance of probabilities’ – the civil law standard of proof – ‘ and indeed, if it were necessary, beyond reasonable doubt’ – the criminal standard of proof. Among the evidence he examined were Hoogstraten’s previous convictions, which could not be mentioned in the criminal trial.
They included being jailed in 1967 for demanding money with menaces and a conviction for causing criminal damages by explosion after a grenade attack on a Jewish minister’s house.
Following the abolition of the double jeopardy laws which barred defendants being tried twice for the same crime, Mr Justice Lightman’s judgment opens the possibility of a new trial against Hoogstraten.
However, Scotland Yard said it would not be reopening the case because the Raja family’s action is based on the police’s original evidence and does not contain new material.
Hoogstraten has not been present at the hearing and is believed to be in Zimbabwe, where he has business interests, having told the court that he was leaving the country and would not be back until next year.
The judge ordered him to pay £500,000 interim costs within 14 days.
The lawsuit returns to court on January 11 and the case is due to be completed by the end of February.
But doubts remain whether the Raja family will ever receive any money.
Hoogstraten is likely to launch an appeal against the High Court ruling and, even if he loses, it is thought much of his fortune has been squirrelled away in overseas investments or property.
The Raja family, of Sutton, Surrey, said in a statement: ‘Naturally, we are very pleased with the court’s findings, but it has been a devastating and uphill struggle to get here.’
b.taylor@dailymail.co.uk