Fuel fraud worth 1.3 billion zloty: "Mańka" trial in Katowice, charge relating to Suszko
The Appellate Court in Katowice has designated the District Court in Katowice as competent to hear the case of Marian W., nicknamed "Maniek". The accused faces up to 15 years' imprisonment.
Appellate Court designates venue for proceedings in fuel scandal and Zondacrypto affair
The Appellate Court in Katowice ruled on Friday that the District Court in Katowice would hear the case of Marian W., nicknamed "Maniek", and other defendants accused of multi-million-zloty fuel fraud – reported Google News PL — Crime (pl), citing information from the Second Criminal Division of the Appellate Court. Case files are to be transferred immediately to the competent court.
The indictment was filed with the court in December 2025. The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice brought it against an international criminal group engaged in illegal fuel trafficking, allegedly headed by Marian W. The documents were initially submitted to the District Court in Sosnowiec, but judges there found themselves incompetent and transferred the case to Katowice. Judges at the Katowice District Court in turn argued that Sosnowiec should conduct the proceedings. The dispute was settled by the Appellate Court.
Fictitious invoices worth nearly 1.3 billion zloty net
Investigators accuse the defendants of issuing fictitious VAT invoices documenting simulated fuel transactions. According to the spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice, prosecutor Michał Binkiewicz, the scheme encompassed nearly 11,900 invoices totalling over 1.29 billion zloty net. Over 1.5 billion zloty from criminal proceeds was to have been transferred into the accounts of companies involved in illegal trafficking, which were subsequently transferred – including to foreign bank accounts – to conceal their criminal origin.
According to investigators, the group operated in the years 2011–2016 in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and other European Union states. It imported diesel oil and petrol from Germany and introduced them to the Polish market through companies merely posing as operating businesses. The investigation was conducted in cooperation with foreign partners, including with the involvement of Eurojust. The case files comprise 957 volumes, and the accused faces up to 15 years' imprisonment.
Zondacrypto thread and disappearance of Sylwester Suszko
Marian W. also appears in the Zondacrypto affair. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, he was one of the main investors in the cryptocurrency exchange and is said to have deposited approximately 120 million zloty from fuel transactions in it. Investigators also suspect that he exercised informal influence over the company's management and brought lawyer Przemysław Kral into it. To date, "Maniek" remains at large.
In separate proceedings concerning the disappearance of Sylwester Suszko – owner of the BitBay exchange – Marian W. was charged with deprivation of liberty. Suszko disappeared in March 2022 when he was 33 years old. He was last seen at a fuel company in Czeladź belonging to Marian W.; his phone also last sent a signal from there. On the day of his disappearance, surveillance cameras on the site of the base were disabled for a time.
Following the presentation of charges in the Suszko case, "Maniek" was not remanded in custody. His defence counsel, lawyer Błażej Gazda, informed PAP on Friday that an immunity document obtained by Marian W. in 2019 in the fuel case has never been revoked and remains in force. The whereabouts of his client were not disclosed by his representative.
Three persons remanded in custody
On Wednesday, on the prosecutor's orders, Anna P., Jaromira W. and stock exchange speculator Rafał Z. were detained. On Friday, the court applied remand in custody to all three. The fuel case is proceeding in parallel with proceedings in the Zondacrypto scandal affair.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)