More than a year after facing criticism in the media over his cut-price acquisition and continued ownership of a large flat in a desirable location in the centre of the capital, Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) chairman Ján Figeľ has donated to charity the apartment he bought from Bratislava's Old Town. Figeľ gave the apartment to the civic association Bol raz jeden človek (Once upon a time, there was a human), he told a news conference on Thursday, October 27.
Both parties signed a donation contract earlier the same day. "A year ago in October, I was subject to challenges, even attacks, due to an apartment we rented as a six-member family and later bought. Both the rental and purchase were legal," Figeľ stressed, as quoted by the SITA newswire. He also said that a year ago he had decided not to own the apartment in the long term and wanted it to be used for charity purposes.
Bol raz jeden človek helps mentally challenged and autistic children to develop their talents and runs an on-line television station, Rojko. The 156-square-metre apartment was rented to Figeľ in 2001 when his then-KDH party colleague Andrej Ďurkovský was the mayor of Bratislava's Old Town. Two years later, in 2003, Figeľ was allowed to buy the flat from the city for about €1,800, which even at the time was a fraction of its market value.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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