Facts
The Federal Court had to decide on an administrative appeal by [A.] and [X. AG] against the decision of the Recourse Commission for Real Estate Acquisitions of the Canton of Zurich. The appellants had carried out the acquisition of a condominium apartment in [C.] by [A.] and the subsequent resale to [X. AG] . The Recourse Commission had affirmed the authorization requirement for the acquisition and refused the authorization.
The appellants had financed the acquisition of the apartment by [A.] with funds provided by the foreign person [D.] . As part of the acquisition transaction, a ten-year right of residence for [D.] 's family members had been granted.
The Federal Court had to examine whether the acquisition of the condominium apartment by [A.] and the subsequent resale to [X. AG] were subject to the authorization requirement and whether the conditions for granting an authorization were met.
Considerations
The Federal Court first examined whether the acquisition of the condominium apartment by [A.] was subject to the authorization requirement. It found that the acquisition by [A.] had been financed with funds provided by the foreign person [D.] . The court found that this circumstance indicated that the acquisition of the apartment by [A.] may have been made in trust for [D.] .
The court further examined whether the acquisition of the apartment by [A.] had created other rights within the meaning of Art. 4 para. 1 lit. g ANRA, which gave [D.] a similar position to that of the owner of a property. It found that the granting of a ten-year right of residence for [D.] 's family members and the financing of the purchase by [D.] indicated that [D.] had acquired such a position.
The court found that the acquisition of the condominium apartment by [A.] was subject to the…