House in Cremieux Street in Jerusalem
צילום: אלכס קולומויסקי
PM asked to respond to report on house purchase
State comptroller submits draft report reviewing purchase of Jerusalem apartment by PM last year. According to reports Olmert paid reduced price for house in exchange for speeding up building project
A state comptroller draft report reviewing the purchase of a house in Cremieux Street in Jerusalem was submitted to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and officials in the Jerusalem municipality Sunday.
The PM and the city officials are required to respond to the report by the end of the month.
About a year ago it was reported that Olmert received a USD 320,000 discount on an apartment in an upscale Jerusalem project in exchange for expediting construction permits.
The apartment was purchased in October 2004 for USD 1.2 million, which according the report means the developers lost money on the transaction.
However, real estate agents familiar with the market said at the time that the price charged for the apartment was reasonable.
The developer submitted to the state comptroller "new and unequivocal evidence" in September, according to which about a month before the prime minister and his wife purchased the property, the company offered the exact same apartment to different buyers for USD 100,000 less.
"The apartment's price in this offer totaled USD 1.1 million, meaning a price cheaper than the price paid by the Olmert couple, who purchased the apartment for a sum of USD 1.2 million," the company said in a statement.
