The Recorder published a Facebook reaction to what it called “an attempt by the Autonomous Government of the State Heritage Protocol Administration to defuse a public scandal surrounding the investment of €7 million in a single-family protocol residence”.

The Recorder journalists claim that RA-APPS “among a long list of justifications, RA-APPS slips in new information, but does not provide any documents or answer important questions related to this investment.”

Here is the Registrar’s opinion posted on Facebook:

“1. Regia claims that “plans, models and images of the interior distributed in the public space do not correspond to the approved documentation, as they are the result of simple speculation”.

The registrar has released the external plans as they are contained in the documentation provided by RA-APPS to the capital city hall. Regarding the interior sketches, we relied on information from the official document – Proposals for the functional composition of the building (appendix 1 to the building permit submitted to several government agencies).

This is how we arrived at the graphical modeling of the architectural plans, which I presented as such. We publicly ask RA-APPS to officially explain whether the following places are indicated in the documents for the development of “Aviatoror” (No. 86):

E12 – dressing room 66.9 square meters.

E07 – greenhouse 1 18.6 sq.m.

E11 – greenhouse 2 15.2 sq.m.

E06 – gym 25.2 square meters,

E08 – gym 2 20.4 sq.m.

E02 – bedroom 2 37.7 sq.m.

E10 – bedroom 1 37.1 sq.m.

P11 – library 43.6 square meters.

And the list goes on.

2. RA-APPS announces that “the sums paid for the completed works to date amount to 2,100,000 lei”. In this way, we will know the total amount of payments already made, but we will not say a word about the cost of the entire project.

The Directorate does not even refer to the estimated cost of the works, which is directly indicated in the latest investment budget of SAIFI (Bucharest Branch of RA-APPS), signed by the General Director of RA-APPS: 35,292,000 lei. That is, more than 7 million euros. In short, RA-APPS did not deny this amount, but only reported the payments made so far.

3. RA-APPS cites the age of the building and the fact that it “shows significant wear and tear” as an argument for significant investment. Therefore, “large-scale consolidation work is necessary.”

We are asking RA-APPS to publicly release the expert report that found such a deep state of degradation that the building needs the €7 million budgeted investment.

4. Another argument is equating the building with a historical monument. According to the RA-APPS, “the works to be carried out on the building in question are part of the strategy to consolidate and preserve the heritage of the state by investing in emblematic buildings/historic monuments”.

We also mentioned this statute in the “Imperial Palace” investigation. It’s just that we also notice a discrepancy in the prioritization of money when it comes to the monuments that the Regiya has started working on.

The next two investment projects of SAIFI, from the point of view of estimated value, are at a great distance: 10,000,000 lei (Pictor Alexandru Romano Street, No. 19) and 4,250,000 lei (Casa Presei). And both are institutional buildings, not single-family homes.

5. The institution also claims that the works at “Aviatorilor” (No. 86) “are financed exclusively from the RA-APPS’ own funds, without the involvement of budget funds.”

In other words, it would not be public money. Public finance experts we consulted note that Law 500/2002, as well as standards of transparency and accountability in public finance, also apply to the budgets of theaters that are fully or partially self-financed. income RA-APPS’s income comes mostly from rents collected by government agencies for buildings that are also owned by the government. In other words, even if they appear as RA-APPS’ own funds, they are still public money,” the publication notes.

We remind you that the Autonomous Directorate of the State Protocol Heritage Administration on Thursday sent the first reaction to the scandal regarding the protocol villa in Aviatorilor, stating that there is no request for the transfer of the building, and the amount paid for the completed works in the amount of 2,100,000 lei.

The “Imperial Palace” scandal began with a new investigation by the Recorder

Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku said that regarding the Protocol Villa on Aviatorio Boulevard, where work is underway and which may be handed over to President Klaus Iohannis after his term ends, it is a seismic risk building, a Class A historical monument.

“What I asked RA-APPS, and they gave me a very clear answer: money from the state budget was not invested. This is the decision of the administrative council. They are from his own income,” Čolaku said, adding that the head of state did not ask him for living space or approval of money for a building in Romania that will become his residence.

The Presidential Administration on Tuesday, for its part, reported that there is no request from the head of state Klaus Iohannis or the Presidential Administration to allocate a protocol residence and a place for a work office, both with the purpose of residence, after the end of the president’s term of office.

The Recorder presented on Monday an investigation titled “Emperor’s Palace: Seven million euros of public money for the comfort of one family”, according to which a construction site shrouded in mystery appeared on the Aviatorilor Boulevard in Bucharest, in one of the exclusive areas of Bucharest. Total capital.

It is about work on a 1,200-square-meter villa, which until recently was the headquarters of the party, and for several months has been transformed under the strictest secrecy into a residence for one family. According to the Recorder, the amount that RA-APPS intends to invest is beyond imagination, €7 million in renovation and development alone.

“Recorder” journalists specified that, according to the law, the circle of high-ranking officials who would have the right to such protocol housing offered by the state is very limited. And most of the clues lead to one person, namely President Klaus Iohannis.

• Read also: The first reaction of the RA-APPS to the “Imperial Palace” scandal: There is no request for the transfer of the building, the published plans are only guesses/How much would the works cost at the moment