Central Anti-Corruption Bureau arrests president and vice-president of tram company. Corruption charges from European Public Prosecutor's Office
Two senior public officials were detained in Silesia by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau on the orders of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. The case concerns corruption in the modernisation of tram infrastructure funded by European Union money.
Central Anti-Corruption Bureau arrests president and vice-president of tram company. Corruption charges from European Public Prosecutor's Office
Officials from the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau detained two men on Tuesday in Chorzów and Katowice who held the highest positions in a company managing funds from the European Union budget. The operation was carried out at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which subsequently brought charges against both suspects related to corruption.
The detained men are the head and deputy head of the supervisory board of the enterprise responsible for modernising tram tracks. One of the men was suspended from his official duties, and both were placed under police supervision. The entire matter concerns suspicions of accepting and giving bribes in the implementation of a project worth 1.9 billion zloty, financed by the European Union fund for the 2007–2027 period in the Upper Silesian–Zagłębie Metropolis region.
As conveyed by Robert Walczak, spokesman for Tramwaje Śląskie, the company received an official notification from Luxembourg containing charges against two board members. One was dismissed from his position, the other faced charges unrelated to work at the enterprise. The spokesman emphasised that the company is acting as a victim in this case, and searches and interrogations have not been conducted at its headquarters for a longer time.
Evidence gathered by investigators indicates that since 2021, one of the officials had been passing confidential data to a selected contractor in order for that contractor to win a public procurement contract. There were allegedly instances of providing illegal financial benefits in exchange for accepting inflated invoices and invoicing work that in reality had not been completed. In December, another official involved in the same case was arrested, who remains in custody.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office is a structure established to combat crimes harming the finances of the European Union. Poland joined this institution last year.
Source: Interia
Source: Interia