Nicholas van Hoogstraten, the British property tycoon who is close to the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, is expected to appear before Harare magistrates today on charges of breaking foreign exchange laws and possessing pornographic pictures of himself having sex with a Zimbabwean woman.
Van Hoogstraten, 63, was arrested on Thursday night apparently after tenants who were evicted for failing to pay rent in advance in foreign currency, which is illegal under Zimbabwean law, complained to the police.
Officers searched his home and said they found the equivalent of about £25,000 in foreign currency, in breach of exchange laws, most of it in US dollars and South African rand, as well as 20bn Zimbabwe dollars, worth about £1,700 on the black market.
They also found what they described as pornographic material of Van Hoogstraten having sex with a 22-year-old Zimbabwean. The woman is believed to be his receptionist.
A police spokesman, Andrew Phiri, told Reuters yesterday: "He is still in police custody and will appear in court on Monday morning."
But Van Hoogstraten, who was convicted in Britain in 2002 of the manslaughter of an associate, but was cleared on appeal, is unlikely to face more than a fine for either offense.
The arrest will suit Gideon Gono, the governor of Zimbabwe’s reserve bank, in his campaign against "cash barons", whom the government accuses of creating a currency shortage by hoarding bank notes and fueling inflation. It is not clear if the arrest was sanctioned from the top. Van Hoogstraten remains close to Mugabe, describing him as "100% decent and incorruptible".
According to sources, tenants complained to the police after Van Hoogstraten illegally demanded payment in foreign currency, months in advance, and raised rents in breach of price controls. Zimbabwe law prohibits the payment of foreign currency for local goods and services.
The real estate developer reportedly owns about 200 residential and business properties in Zimbabwe.