Nicholas van Hoogstraten always maintained he was framed over the death of business associate Mohammed Raja.

He admitted he had a temper - he once even threatened a judge. But he insisted there were "no dead bodies" hidden in his past.

He dismissed the claim that he hired hitmen to assassinate Mr Raja as ludicrous and said that when he was charged "my whole life went upside down".

Hoogstraten alleged that another figure in the property world, Michaal Hamdan, was instrumental in putting him in dock.

He said Mr Hamdan had "harboured a serious grudge against me" ever since they fell out over control of a south coast hotel.

He said: "It was something that was eating away at him. He even tried to blame me for the death of his mother."

But Mr Hamdan fled to Lebanon in fear of his life before he was due to give evidence.

Grey-haired Hoogstraten, casually but expensively dressed, spent several days in the witness box during his Old Bailey trial.

But he had already given evidence to the court during legal discussions in the absence of the jury.

He testified during those submissions about Mr Hamdan - a missing key prosecution witness.

Mr Hamdan had implicated Hoogstraten in the killing, alleging that he had said he wanted to get rid of two people - one of whom was Mr Raja.

After Mr Hamdan flew to Beirut, the judge ruled that his statements could not be read to the jury in his absence.

Hoogstraten maintained that Mr Hamdan had tried to frame him in order to save his own skin.

He alleged that Mr Hamdan had a motive for getting rid of Raja because of a dispute over a property in Hove.

He also claimed that Mr Hamdan was looking for immunity from prosecution and payment for not giving evidence.

Hoogstraten accepted that he had a volcanic temper and had in the past threatened to kill people.

But it was simply anger, he told the court, adding: "There have been no dead bodies."

He admitted he once told a judge he would get him in ten years' time, but explained: "I was very, very irate. I knew the judge was unfair to me."

Asked whether the judge was still alive, Hoogstraten replied: "Yes, of course. I did not bear him any ill will. He was sold a pup as well."

He displayed his short fuse during the Old Bailey trial - but when the jury was not in court.

He shouted, "All this is a set-up" - and was warned by the judge about his behaviour.

In front of the jury, he hardly referred to Mr Hamdan.

His barrister, Richard Ferguson QC, suggested the killing of Mr Raja was more like a robbery "gone horribly wrong" than a carefully planned hit by a powerful businessman.

He said: "A contract killing, you may think, involves planning and expertise. A swift, clinical strike.

"This was a bungled farce, more like an attempted robbery than a contract killing."

Mr Ferguson said police had found no evidence against his client but had tried to make out he was "guilty by association".

Hoogstraten always maintained his innocence, insisting he was abroad at the time of the crime.

Mr Ferguson claimed the possible financial consequences of a legal dispute between the two men were "trifling".

Hoogstraten ridiculed suggestions that he could have had someone assassinated for £6,000 to £7,000.

The multi-millionaire told the jury there were a number of contract killers in Belmarsh prison, where he was being held in custody.

He said: "To suggest anyone could get a contract hit for £6,000 to £7,000 is totally laughable. And it would be the first time in history when a contract killing had been paid by stage payments."

He had heard in Belmarsh that the going rate was £20,000 to £25,000.