2024-09-02 15:04 update: 2024-09-03, 15:05
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Warsaw Regional Court has issued a European arrest warrant (EAW) for Michal K., the former president of Poland's Government Strategic Reserves Agency (RARS), accused of exceeding his powers for financial gain.
The court reported on Monday that it issued an EAW and an arrest warrant covering the UK and Northern Ireland on August 31.
Earlier, in order to initiate a search for the suspects, prosecutors applied to a district court in Katowice, southern Poland, for a preventive measure in the form of temporary arrest.
At issue is a case widely reported by Polish media concerning cooperation between RARS, headed by K. with the Red is Bad patriotic clothing company owned by Pawel Sz.
The news website Onet was the first to reveal the scandal. In one of its publications, Onet wrote that the previous Law and Justice government, led by Mateusz Morawiecki, "entered into a peculiar alliance with Pawel Sz., .... aimed at embezzling public money at a scale not seen before."
According to the website, the businessman became a provider of "things of all sorts - from safety gear during the pandemic to power generators..."
Onet said that throughout three years, transfers amounting to PLN 500 million (EUR 117 million) were made to Sz.'s bank account, and the contracts between him and RARS, headed by K., were signed without conducting a tender.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation concerns procurements organised by RARS between February 23, 2021, and November 27, 2023. Investigators believe these procurements were set up to benefit Michał K., among others.
In the course of the investigation concerning irregularities in RARS, the prosecutors drew up charges of taking part in an organised criminal group, exceeding powers and failing to fulfil duties to gain financial benefits against both K. and Sz.
They face up to 10 years in prison. (PAP)
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