Police are investigating an expert witness regarding the exchange of a palace in Olomouc

Olomouc - The police have begun to investigate the exchange of the historic Edelmann Palace for properties in the gap in Denisova Street in Olomouc, where the Central European Forum was planned to be built in the future. Detectives are pursuing an expert witness who prepared valuations for the Olomouc City Hall. According to the police, in her assessment she grossly undervalued the city palace and conversely overvalued the private land that the city wanted to exchange for the palace. If the contract came into effect, the city would have been damaged by at least 23 million crowns, according to the police. The city then planned to sell the land to an art museum that was preparing the construction of the forum. However, the contract for the transfer of the palace was conditional on the release of a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture for this project, which was not obtained.
    "Based on the police investigation, detectives had expert opinions prepared, which clearly indicate that the expert witness grossly underestimated on one hand and grossly overestimated on the other," said Michal Pižurin, spokesman for the Olomouc regional police, to ČTK today. The expert witness is being prosecuted for the crime of perjury and for providing a false expert opinion. The woman faces up to ten years in prison.
    The Olomouc city councilors decided on the exchange in March 2009. They approved that the city of Olomouc would sell Edelmann Palace to entrepreneur Miroslav Barnet from Hanácká real estate agency for 38 million crowns. Part of the price was to be paid by the entrepreneur by transferring his land in Denisova Street, which the art museum needs for the future Central European Forum. He valued the land, measuring 395 square meters, at 9.5 million crowns. The city then intended to immediately sell it to the museum. Thirty-two out of 41 present councilors agreed to the sale of the Edelmann Palace, while eight were against it. The actions of the councilors who voted for the exchange had already been investigated by the police based on a criminal complaint. However, the prosecution was postponed.
    City officials refer to the fact that the responsibility for preparing the expert opinion lies solely with its author and not with the municipality. "We subsequently had additional expert opinions prepared, and they did not imply that the city would be financially harmed. Therefore, I do not know on what concrete basis the police is proceeding," said Ivan Rašťák, spokesman for the city hall, to ČTK. According to Mayor Martin Novotný (ODS), if it is found that the opinion is wrong, the city will have to respond to it. "The forum did not receive the subsidy, but the Minister of Culture hinted that there are other ways. The exchange contract is valid until the middle of the year. This issue must be resolved in the coming months," Mayor Novotný told ČTK.
    The historically significant palace is located directly on Horní náměstí opposite the town hall and dates back to the 16th century. It contains two apartments and 1,262 square meters of non-residential space.
    The Central European Forum was ceremoniously established in June 2008 in the presence of ministers and state secretaries from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. Two months later, it became clear that the last parcel under the future cultural venue could not be acquired by the museum. Barnet bought the key land in the gap for seven million crowns from the Nácar couple. Although the museum agreed with them on the same price, part of it wanted to pay back in real estate, which the Nácar couple did not agree to.
    The forum was supposed to open in 2013. The employees of the Art Museum spent four years preparing the project, and the museum paid 23 million crowns for the acquisition of the land and 21 million for the acquisition of artworks. The cultural center was to be built in a new building in the gap next to the Art Museum. The architecturally bold building was meant to display modern artworks from across Central Europe, and the rear part was planned to include a garden with sculptures and archaeological finds, and the museum was to include an international research center. However, the project recently failed in a competition for a half-billion crown subsidy from European funds. Its fate is still being discussed. If the project falls through, the Renaissance monument will remain in the hands of the city.