In November 2022, Reding was found guilty of having concealed vital information during the sale of a Kirchberg apartment building in 2016. During the appeal on Friday morning, the public prosecutor demanded confirmation of the ruling.
Reding is said to have sold the building without informing the buyer that a studio on the basement floor could not be used as living space as it did not meet required standards. According to the court ruling, it had to be renovated as a cellar.
Reding’s lawyer, Lydie Lorang, argued the buyer was not a naive woman, and had been aware of the circumstances when she purchased the building. The defence claims there is an email exchange pointing out the situation between Reding and the estate agent. “This email shows there was nothing to hide,” Reding told the court. In another email it was also stated that the studio in question would have to be used as storage or as a utility room in the future.
The public prosecutor’s office argued that the buyer had been aware of work on the studio, but that she had been under the impression it was to do with the “cadastre vertical”, or the division of the building into different properties. The energy report and the rent report for 2015 both indicated the building was divided into 5 units. The prosecutor said it was therefore clear the studio was designed to be rented out, and the buyer had had no knowledge of the planned conversion into a cellar. The real estate agent also testified that he had not been aware of the situation.
Lorang responded that she could not rule out a lie on behalf of the estate agent, while insisting her client had been open and honest throughout. The prosecution could not prove that the buyer did not know about the circumstances of the studio. Lorang went on to demand her client’s acquittal.
Reding declined to comment following the session.
The verdict will be delivered on 20 July.
