Court of Auditors reveals millions of losses when selling Carinthian real estate!

Court of Auditors reveals millions of losses when selling Carinthian real estate!

Görtschach, Österreich - The Carinthian State Audit Office has practiced sharp criticism of the sale of national assets. The transaction of the former state youth home in Görtschach in particular raises questions. In 2004, the property was transferred to the state property company LIG for 2.58 million euros. From 2012 it was rented out as a home for unaccompanied minor refugees before it was sold to the children's friends for only 1.3 million euros in 2015 who had previously taken over the company. Critics complain that this sale has not been publicly announced, which may have achieved several interest parties a better price, such as the Kleine Zeitung reported.

The real value of the property has significantly varied by several reports over the years. While a value of 2.8 million euros was determined in 2003, the real value was already 3.8 million euros, according to an expert opinion from 2011, but in 2015 by only 1.2 million euros. This raises the question of whether the real estate was actually sold at a reasonable price or whether even sold below the market value. Similar problems were also found in the sale of the former tourism vocational school in Oberwollanig and the Drohhofen Castle.

discussion about traffic values

Another critical case concerns the sale of an office building in the Völkermarkt industrial park. The construction costs amounted to 2.5 million euros in 1993, while an expert opinion from 2014 gave a market value of only 420,000 euros. Ultimately, the building was sold to the best bidder for only 271,000 euros. An error in the report that expelled a need for a high renovation has contributed to this drastic impairment.

In a further case, a 2.9 hectare holiday village at Lake Ossiacher was sold for 4.7 million euros according to a public bidding process. However, the agreed millions of investments and the tourist company have so far failed to materialize for five years. The Carinthian participation administration therefore calls for 740,000 euros in penalty and comparison negotiations are still running. In this context, the State Audit Office recommends the reversal of the sale if the obligations are not met.

political reactions

opposition politician Gerhard Köfer from Team Carinthia expressed concerns and plans to invite information in the state parliament's control committee. It accuses the state government that buildings were sold under the value of the report, which is ultimately at the expense of taxpayers. The FPÖ is also critical and speaks of "dubious impairments" when selling national assets. The chairman Erwin Angerer states that in contrast to other parts of Austria, real estate prices in Carinthia have decreased and blames the red-black state government for the economic losses.

The public debate about the awarding of state properties and the associated financial losses is in full swing. Experts and interested parties are excited to see how the political reaction will develop and what measures could be taken to improve transparency and avoiding future grievances.