Hoogstraten barred from fighting claim

Published on Tuesday 13 June 2006 00:06

NICHOLAS van Hoogstraten, the property baron, was yesterday barred from defending a £6 million claim against him.

A judge at the High Court in London said Hoogstraten's responsibility for the murder of his business rival, Mohammed Raja, meant the court had to take the "Draconian" step of striking out his defence.

This leaves Hoogstraten open to the multi-million-pound claim by Mr Raja's heirs, plus more than 1.5 million costs. But a defiant Hoogstraten said he would not "pay a penny".

Mr Justice Lightman ruled last December that Hoogstraten recruited two thugs to murder Mr Raja in order to halt a civil action the man was bringing against him.

The judge's condemnation came after Hoogstraten had been acquitted of manslaughter at the Court of Appeal.

In a ruling over an application by the Raja family to debar Hoogstraten from defending the action because of his conduct, Mr Justice Lightman said yesterday: "No greater perversion of the course of justice can be conceived than the murder of the opposing party to obtain an advantage in the litigation."

When Hoogstraten was ordered to pay a preliminary 282,000 costs to the Raja solicitors, he told the judge: "They are not going to get a penny."

Mr Raja, 62, was suing Hoogstraten over a business deal at the time of his death. He was stabbed and shot after answering the door at his home in south London in July 1999. His killers, who were, the judge said, Hoogstraten's henchmen, are serving life for murder.

Hoogstraten, 60,

said to be worth in excess of 100 million, was sentenced in 2002 to ten years for the manslaughter of Mr Raja, but his conviction was quashed on appeal.

There is to be a further hearing in two weeks to decide on damages.