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LONDON - Notorious property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten has been arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of breaking the country's currency exchange laws and possessing pornography.
The move is being seen in some quarters as part of a plan by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to seize his once close supporter's multimillion-dollar business empire, which spans mining, tourism and property interests.
Police detained Van Hoogstraten after a raid on his home on Friday, charging him with collecting rent on his properties in foreign currency. Zimbabwean law prohibits the payment of foreign currency for local goods and services.
The arrest represents an astonishing reversal in fortunes for the multi-millionaire father-of-five, who divides his time between Zimbabwe and Hamilton Place, his half-built, £40 million mansion in Sussex, from where he runs the British end of his empire.
Van Hoogstraten, 62, has made much of his money in Zimbabwe, thanks to his close relationship with Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. He owns about 200 residential and business properties in Zimbabwe, say police, has significant investments on the Zimbabwe stock exchange, and reportedly owns an estimated 600,000ha in the country.
But crippling inflation has sent Zimbabwe into political and economic turmoil. The country's central bank chief, Gideon Gono, blamed the crisis on "cash barons", whom he accuses of hoarding Zimbabwean dollars and exchanging them for foreign currency.
The police said that when arrested Van Hoogstraten was in possession of US$37,586, 92,880 South African rand and £190, as well as 20 billion Zimbabwe dollars, worth around US$3333 on the black market.
In what seems to have been an orchestrated media operation by authorities, news bulletins showed police parading Van Hoogstraten before state television cameras holding wads of money.
"Van Hoogstraten is being charged under the exchange control regulations for charging a service and dealing in foreign currency," said Zimbabwean police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena.
He said the tycoon had demanded six months' rent in foreign currency from his tenants, one of whom had been an informant.
"The police informant had been asked to pay in the region of US$8000," Bvudzijena said. The tycoon also faced charges linked to pornographic material found in his house. If found guilty, Van Hoogstraten will face a fine and be forced to hand over the foreign money, according to media reports.
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