Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy's wife purchased a luxury apartment on favorable terms from business tycoon Oleksandr Buryak, Reuters reports, citing official income and property records.
In a report issued on May 1, the news agency said documents showed Zelenskiy's wife, Olena Zelenska, bought a three-room penthouse apartment on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula for $163,893 in April 2013.
That would put the price per square meter at about $1,263, compared with listings at the time that were priced at between $3,500 and $4,000 per square meter.
Reuters said in the report it was unable to establish why the apartment was sold at below-market prices.
Neither Zelenskiy nor his wife responded to requests for comment submitted via his campaign team and via companies he co-owns, the news agency said.
Zelenska has put the property up for sale at a price of $790,668, more than four times what she paid in 2013.
The 41-year-old actor Zelenskiy won an April 21 presidential election runoff, campaigning largely on his status as a newcomer to Ukraine's political scene who was not beholden to the business and political elite.
He beat incumbent Petro Poroshenko, a wealthy businessman, who had been plagued by accusations of turning a blind eye to rampant corruption that favored the country’s wealthiest citizens.
In a statement issued after the Reuters report, Zelenskiy's campaign office said all Ukrainian taxes and fees had been paid and that the property had been declared in line with the law.
The statement added that the price had been consistent with market levels at the time.
A follow-up statement said the apartment's price had been professionally assessed and compared to others in the area as part of the sale process.
The step was mandatory for the sale to be recognized by a notary, it said.
According to Reuters, public property-register documents show Buryak to be the seller of the apartment. The news agency said he declined to comment.
