The Romanian state pays monthly rent of 6,500 pounds for the director of ICR London, who did not want to stay in a free apartment

The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in London has rented an apartment to accommodate its director right in the building where the institution operates. More precisely, ICR London operates in premises granted by the British Crown Estate. This means that the Romanian state does not pay rent, but only administrative costs and utilities. The institute is located in Belgrave Square, right in the heart of London, in an old aristocratic palace built in the 19th century.

However, the new director of ICR London, actress Catinca Maria Nistor, refused this home and received a budget for the rent of another 120 sqm apartment.

According to Libertatea newspaper’s sources, since the branch started operating in 2006, all four directors have been accommodated in a generous apartment on the second floor of the building. It has a kitchen, two properly equipped bathrooms and four other spacious rooms. Catinca Maria Nistor, 34 years old, did not want to live in this apartment and she applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for another home, and the ministry approved the rental of an apartment in the center of the London capital. According to the newspaper’s sources, it is located near Harrods, a famous London department store, and the monthly rent is 6,500 pounds for 120 square meters. To which are added the other expenses.

According to specialist websites, £6,500 a month is “the highest rent in Kensington and Chelsea for a 4 bedroom flat or more”. The apartment rented for Catinca Maria Nistor has, according to the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania to Libertatea questions, “3 rooms”, which would mean two bedrooms, in the British standard.

“During this time, the apartment where all the directors of the ICR have stayed until now is empty. In my opinion, this is an abuse against the public interests of the MFA,” an ICR employee told Libertatea.

The ministry did not deny the price paid for director Nistor’s apartment. Asked to explain why he prefers to pay a considerable amount since he could live in a space for which he does not have to pay rent, the MFA replied: “The rental of the house was made at the request of the mission, at the time of the request there was no available in the premises of the institute adequate accommodation. The apartment provided to Mrs. Nistor is composed of three rooms, with a total area of ​​120 square meters, which also includes spaces intended for receiving guests/office, provided by internal rules for these functions”.

Catinca Maria Nistor was appointed director of ICR London without competition, at the proposal of the president of the institution, Liviu Sebastian Jicman. This received, on April 15, the positive opinion of the Culture Committee of the Senate, although some senators contested her competences. During the hearings, Nistor was unable to say what his two main objectives are once he takes over the ICR London mandate. “I have some ideas, but I don’t want to talk,” she said then.

A month after her appointment, the edupedu.ro website wrote that Nistor neither graduated nor attended the courses of the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE), which she claims, in her CV and in her public statement from the Parliament, that she would have graduated in 2010. The mentioned source quoted an official response from the LSE. In reality, Nistor attended a summer school organized by LSE in 2009 and 2010.

Catinca Maria Nistor is the daughter of the Romanian actor Stelian Nistor, former leader of the Masonic Lodge of the Scottish Rite, which has its headquarters in London, writes the site culturaladuba.ro.

During the mandate of Mayor General Gabriela Firea, he was interim director of the Bulandra Theater in Bucharest. She was kicked out after a year, following a public protest by the actors from Bulandra. The theater’s new interim management sued her, alleging that she had misappropriated amounts of money. In the first instance, on September 19, 2021, the Bucharest Court decided to cancel the copyright contracts and forced her to return almost 7,000 euros to the theater. The decision is not final.