The land on which the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bratislava stands was sold by the Bratislava City Hall at a significantly lower price from the figure set by appraisers, ex-defence minister Ľubomír Galko (Freedom and Solidarity [SaS]) and SaS city councillors Ján Hrčka and Igor Bendík claimed on Monday, January 14.
According to Galko, Bratislava had ordered the drafting of the property appraisal in 2011, based on which the 4,130 square metres in question were to be sold for more than €2.64 million. In September 2012, however, Bratislava sold the land for €1.037 million. This, Galko said, was due to a different appraisal, which cut the price by 50 percent because of alleged noise from traffic. "I have grave suspicions that fraud occurred during the sale of the land," said Galko for the TASR newswire.
Thus SaS plans to file a criminal complaint over the matter as early as Tuesday. They also object to the fact that Bratislava Mayor Milan Ftáčnik (aligned with the ruling Smer party) denied the existence of the alternative expert opinion during a City Council session. "It could have happened without the knowledge of Mr Mayor, but then individuals appointed by him must be responsible and he is accountable [for what they do]," stressed Hrčka.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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