Four detained over suspect deal harming Polish refiner: official
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
29.01.2019 13:15
Polish anti-corruption investigators have detained four people suspected of orchestrating a dubious deal harming state-owned oil refiner Lotos, an official said on Tuesday.
Stanisław ŻarynWojciech Kusiński/Polskie Radio
Stanisław Żaryn, a spokesman for Poland's security services chief, said those detained by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) included a former company CEO, a former executive empowered to represent the company, an employee holding a managerial role at Lotos, and an outside businessman.
The former Lotos CEO was identified only as Paweł O. under Polish privacy laws.
Żaryn told public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency that evidence collected by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau showed the suspects took part in a decision-making process in the past that resulted in Lotos signing a “fictitious contract” for consultancy services.
Żaryn said investigators believed the deal was devised to siphon off “hundreds of thousands of zlotys” from Lotos, which is Poland’s second-largest oil refiner.
The IAR news agency reported that the investigation was ongoing and that CBA officers were searching the detainees' offices and apartments.
The news agency also reported that all four suspects were being brought before prosecutors and expected to face charges at the Regional Prosecutor's Office in the northern city of Gdańsk.
Meanwhile, Lotos said in a statement that the detentions by CBA officers on Tuesday concerned a case dating back to 2011. It also offered its full cooperation with investigators, IAR reported.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR