PROPERTY tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, has been taken to the High Court by a Harare man seeking to recover his shares allegedly seized by the former after a botched asset swap deal.
SENIOR COURT REPORTER
The man, Tapiwa Nelomwe, filed a claim of 167 275 Old Mutual Public Limited shares and 110 000 PPC’s or damages equivalent to the value of the shares against Van Hoogstraten.
In his court application, Nelomwe said sometime in 2008, he entered into a verbal agreement with Van Hoogstraten.
He said the terms of the agreement were that Nelomwe would transfer his Old Mutual and PPC shares to Van Hoogstraten, who in turn would transfer immovable property known as number 4 Wroxhan Road, The Grange, in Harare to him.
Pursuant to the agreement, Nelomwe said on October 22 2008 he allegedly transferred the shares under share certificate number 606 776, but Van Hoogstraten failed to effect transfer of the immovable property to him prompting Nelomwe to cancel the deal in January 2011.
Nelomwe claims that despite several demands, Van Hoogstraten had failed to transfer back the shares to him.
In response to the claim Van Hoogstraten denied he ever contracted with Nelomwe at any time.
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The businessman admitted, however, that he was once tasked to act as an agent for the purposes of receiving share certificates registered in an entity called Zimcor Limited from Nelomwe by the former in which entity he was neither a director nor a shareholder.
Van Hoogstraten said he had no knowledge of, nor was he a party to the agreement between Nelomwe and Zimcor Limited regarding the said shares.
He further said he could not be held personally liable to Nelomwe in terms of a contract he was not a party to and also denied that the shares in issue were transferred to him.
The matter is pending at the court.
