Bulgaria Sells Property in Bonn, Starting Price EUR 2.4 M

Bulgaria's government has decided to put up for sale a state-owned property in the German town of Bonn, saying it has gone out of use after the relocation of the embassy in Berlin.

At the moment Bulgaria houses its diplomatic bureau in Bonn, but the slot it owns there, spreading over 3099 square meters, is too large for it, the government said.

The starting sale price has been set at EUR 2.4 M.

Bulgaria's state-owned properties in Germany has often caused tensions to flare up. At the end of last year a ruling of a German court, which obliged Bulgaria to pay EUR 10,5 M to the heirs of a property in Berlin, put at odds the country's former ambassador there Meglena Plugchieva and the then foreign minister Rumiana Jeleva.

According to Plugchieva the property in question was used by the Bulgarian state and its trade representatives in Berlin up to 1990, when it was rented out to Dresdner Bank.

Despite ownership claims by the property heirs, the bank continued to use it up to 2000 at a rent of EUR 90,000 per month.

The former ambassador said it was her decision to transfer all Dresdner Bank payments to a separate bank account so that the money can be used in case of an unfavorable for the Bulgarian state ruling of the court.