For years the extent of Nicholas Hoogstraten's amassed fortune and assets have remained shrouded in mystery.

That is all about to change following a ruling yesterday at the High Court in London.

A judge found the property baron had lied about the extent of his wealth and gave the go-ahead for a team of accountants to painstakingly sift through his dealings.

Hoogstraten began building his empire from his home in Shoreham more than 40 years ago through stamp dealing.

By the age of 21 he was a self-made millionaire.

As one of the most influential men in the South-East, he has lived the life of jet-set royalty for 36 years.

He is alleged to have owned eight hotels, held 30 bank accounts and has begun to create his own multi-million pound palace estate in Framfield, just outside Uckfield.

How the mighty have fallen.

Earlier this year he was jailed for ten years for the manslaughter of business rival Mohammed Raja.

Now within the next few days, following a High Court order made yesterday, a sequestrator will move into the hotels, businesses and properties which fed Hoogstraten's luxurious lifestyle.

Assets with a value of £5 million are expected to be seized to enable the tycoon to pay legal bills and the damages being sought by the family of Mr Raja.

They will attempt to unravel the web of deceit he used to hide and nurture his vast wealth.

They will look into all of the companies Hoogstraten has links with, attempt to discover how many aliases he has used to disguise his assets and seek out his stooges.

David Irvin, counsel for the Raja family, described Hoogstraten as a spider at the centre of a shadowy web.

Mr Irvin said: "He is the master of the proprietorial smokescreen. There is nothing he likes more than confusion over who owns what, especially when it comes to court proceedings."

The court heard Hoogstraten, 57, started buying hotels in Brighton and Hove in 1991 as the economy collapsed.

Among them were Courtlands Hotel, the Imperial Hotel, Langfords and The Madeira.

He bought Courtlands in 1993 when it went into receivership.

It was the realisation of a lifelong ambition. He said: "I always wanted it from I was very young."

Likewise, he bought the Imperial Hotel when it went into receivership.

His hotels were registered to Tombstone Ltd, a company in which he had only 1,000 shares but of which he was sole director under the alias Von Hessen.

This company alone is allegedly worth more than £18 million.

Hoogstraten and Caroline Williams were directors of Tombstone's subsidiary company Richmond Hotels.

Hoogstraten also has share holdings in Planet Properties Ltd.

As he set the team of sequestrators to their task, High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Smith outlined some of the dealings which had already come to light.

He noted that no assets of Tombstone Ltd were acknowledged by Hoogstraten in his affidavits but that his control over it was clear as he had used £600,000 of its money to pay for his legal defence.

Mr Justice Smith said: "It seems to me assets relating to Tombstone Ltd ought to have been dealt with in any compliance affidavit."

He said the loan was a flagrant breach of the Companies Act and said no legal documentation had been produced to substantiate it.

He said: "I am satisfied Mr Hoogstraten has wilfully concealed his interest in significant other assets."

He referred to Hoogstraten's estate, Hamilton Place in Framfield, on which Mr Irvin's team allege the tycoon has spent £28 million during the past 17 years.

Hoogstraten also possesses a £200 million art, antique and coin collection, which he claims he gave to his children in trust.

Mr Justice Smith poured scorn on this claim.

He said: "There is not one shred of evidence produced by Mr Hoogstraten showing any such trust has been set up."

He ordered an interim payment of £400,000 be placed in court for the Raja family to claim when the proceedings concluded.

He also ordered that a further £200,000 in costs be paid directly to the family's solicitors.

Hoogstraten owes £1 million in fines for contempt, after previously being ordered to pay £200,000 a month, which increased ten per cent each week he failed to pay up.

That fine has now been reduced to £100,000 a month but Mr Justice Smith said he would have to pay an additional weekly fine of £50,000 starting on Monday because of his continued contempt of court.

He said he reduced the previous fine because the situation was in danger of becoming "disproportionate and oppressive".

The Argus last month calculated it could bankrupt the tycoon within 12 months.

Mr Justice Smith said: "Mr Hoogstraten is in contempt and continues to be.

"The fines I imposed were considerable. I hoped to encourage him to come clean. None of this has worked."

He said a sentence of imprisonment would not achieve very much as Hoogstraten was already in prison.

He said: "It seems to me a financial penalty is a matter which ought to concentrate his mind more carefully."

Mr Raja's son, Amjad Raja, 41, was pleased with the court's decision.

He said: "All the family are feeling very pleased about it.

"We are satisfied with the interim payment awarded and we are confident we will secure somewhere near the £5 million we think is owed to our father.

"I wish Hoogstraten had been in court himself because I would have loved to have seen his face today. It has been a long three years but we can now, finally, see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is a victory for our father."

Two of Hoogstraten's lawyers were told by Mr Justice Smith to submit statements within 28 days explaining why they accepted money from the tycoon apparently knowing his assets were frozen.

Mr Justice Smith said: "On the evidence before me, they have aided and abetted contempt."

Unlocking the secrets of this complex financial web will be a tough task for anyone, especially if Hoogstraten refuses to help.

For now, as the court heard, there is only one man who can pinpoint every asset in his empire.

And he is serving ten years behind bars at Belmarsh Prison.