More detainees in case of claiming influence
Officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau detained three people in institutions dealing with environmental protection in Zielona Góra. This is the result of an investigation into the claiming of influence in governmental and local government offices, as well as detention centres and Prosecutors’ Offices. The preparatory proceedings are supervised by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice.
On 27th August 2024, officers from the Regional Office of the CBA in Kraków, at the request of the District Prosecutor’s Office, detained two men employed at the Lubuskie Voivodeship Environmental Protection Inspectorate in Zielona Góra and an employee of the Main Inspectorate for Environmental Protection from the Field Office in Zielona Góra. Officers searched several locations in Zielona Góra and the Lubuskie Province. Evidence in the investigation was secured, including electronic media, personnel documentation, correspondence and cash in PLN and Euro. Officers from the Regional Offices of the CBA in Poznań and Wrocław also participated in the implementation.
Information in Exchange for Financial Benefits
According to the findings of CBA officers, there were cases of accepting and granting financial benefits in exchange for disclosing information on official activities regarding compliance with environmental protection regulations in connection with waste reclamation in the Novosol province. The granted financial benefits made it possible to obtain, in an unauthorised manner, information on planned inspections and the effects of inspection findings.
Preventive Measures Applied
The detainees were taken to the District Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice, where they were charged with bribery. The Prosecutor applied for a preventive measure in the form of pre-trial detention against the employee of the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection. By a decision of the District Court of Katowice Wschód, the man was provisionally arrested for a period of two months. Against the other two persons, the Prosecutor applied non-custodial preventive measures, i.e. a property surety, police supervision and a ban on contacting specific persons.
Ongoing Case
This is already the third implementation in the preparatory proceedings conducted by officers of the Regional Office of the CBA in Kraków. In the whole case, charges were brought against 10 persons. Currently, two persons are in temporary arrest.
Further threads in the case are being investigated and further implementations are planned.
CBA appeals for integrity
In connection with the ongoing investigation, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau informs that persons who have allowed themselves to be entangled in a corruption procedure and have given a financial benefit have the possibility to take advantage of the so-called non-punishment clause under Article 229 § 6 of the Penal Code, which states:
The perpetrator of the offence specified in § 1-5 shall not be subject to punishment if a financial or personal benefit or its promise has been accepted by a person performing a public function, and the perpetrator has notified an authority established for the prosecution of offences and disclosed all relevant circumstances of the offence before the authority became aware of it.
CBA Press Team
