Former Czech Prime Minister and billionaire Andrej Babiš, who is now facing trial for misuse of EU subsidies, is buying residential land in Slovenia. He has bought a plot of land in the centre of Ljubljana with his investment fund Hartenberg and the Slovak developer Corwin, where up to 400 flats can be built. The transaction, worth an estimated €25 million, would make Andrej Babiš one of the major players on the Slovenian real estate market, reported the investigative server Necenzurirano.si, quoted by the Czech daily E15.cz.
According to the investigative server, Andrej Babiš decided to invest in Slovenia immediately after losing the elections last autumn. At that time, his close political ally Janez Janša was the head of the Slovenian government, Necenzurirano.si reports. Then, at the end of last year, the Hartenberg fund invested tens of millions of euros in a partnership with Corwin to buy and develop real estate projects in the region.
The land purchased by the Hartenberg fund is located near the Ljubljana train station and covers an area of almost 4 hectares (40,000 sqm). The final price that Andrej Babiš and the developer will pay for it to Slovenian businessman Igor Lah is expected to exceed €25 million excluding VAT. According to the Ljubljana Master Plan, up to 464 apartments and 145,000 sqm of commercial space can be built on the land.
In addition to the mentioned land plot, Corwin and Hartenberg currently have three other real estate projects in Ljubljana.
