NZ businessman may be forced to sell island to claim-jumping Italian statists

A New Zealand businessman who waited three years to purchase an island off the coast of Sardinia is set to lose it to the Italian government just weeks after he bought it.

NZ businessman may be forced to sell island to claim-jumping Italian statists 9444413

NZ businessman may be forced to sell island to claim-jumping Italian statists 9444413

Michael Harte, 47, chief information officer for Australia's Commonwealth Bank, last month purchased the tiny island of Budelli, an Italian national park considered one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean, for €2.94 million ($4.8 million) at auction.

On Monday, the Italian senate made a move to allow the state to reclaim Budelli, which is part of the Maddalena archipelago of islands between Sardinia and Corsica, the Telegraph reported.

At the time of auction the cash-stricken Italian state could not raise the funds needed to buy the island from its previous private owners in Milan, but Italians are up in arms at the thought of the ecological treasure being owned by a foreigner.

Harte has told media he is a committed conservationist and would ensure the island remained pristine and protected. Furthermore, the island came with strict planning regulations under which no new structures could be built.

However, the Ministry of Environment and the Park Authority has granted the Italian government the right of pre-emption, which allows it to buy the property within 90 days for the same price paid at auction.

A group of MPs from left-wing party SEL had pushed for the island to be reclaimed and a former environment minister had collected 85,000 signatures for a petition opposing the sale.

The government now has until January 8 to decide on whether to claim Budelli for its original asking price, under a deal in which Harte would be reimbursed.

The entrepreneur previously told New Zealand media he had been working on buying the island for the past three years.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/9444371/Kiwi-may-be-forced-to-sell-Italian-island

Evil maggots!

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NZ businessman may be forced to sell island to claim-jumping Italian statists

NZ businessman may be forced to sell island to claim-jumping Italian statists

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