Six detained in corruption probe involving Polish arms producer
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
28.01.2019 11:20
Anti-corruption investigators in Poland say they have detained six suspects, among them the right-hand man of the country's former defence minister and an ex-lawmaker, in a probe involving a state-owned arms producer.
Photo: cba.gov.pl
Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) said in a statement on Monday that the six were detained as part of an investigation into mismanagement of assets “with a substantial value,” causing “a direct risk of significant financial damage” to the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), the country's largest defence firm.
Among those detained were Bartłomiej M., a onetime press spokesman and close aide to former Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz; Mariusz Antoni K., a former ruling party parliamentarian; Radosław O., a former member of the management board of the Polish Armaments Group; and three former defence ministry and PGZ employees, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The suspects, whose last names were withheld by officials under Polish privacy laws, were being brought before prosecutors on Monday, according to the news agency.
The CBA said its officers were conducting searches in more than 30 locations in the wake of the detentions.
Anti-corruption investigators are looking into leads including alleged mismanagement, influence peddling and document forgery, the IAR news agency reported.
The Polish Armaments Group was established in 2013 in a move to consolidate the country’s armaments industry. The group comprises more than 60 businesses with a total of 17,500 employees and combined annual revenue of PLN 4.5 billion (EUR 1.05 billion, USD 1.19 billion).
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, pgzsa.pl