Clergyman acknowledged fictitious donations
Central Anti-Corruption Bureau officers detained 13 people, including a former parish priest of one of Płock’s parishes who acknowledged giving fictitious donations for religious purposes. The clergyman has been temporarily arrested. The investigation is supervised by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Płock.
The detentions are related to an investigation, conducted by officers of the CBA Regional Office in Łódź, into the loss of public and legal dues using fictitious donations to church parishes. The former parish priest of one parish in Płock, acting jointly and in agreement with another person, accepted donations on the parish’s bank account for the purposes of religious worship and charity and care. The clergyman issued documents of acceptance of the claimed donation, which allowed the donors to reduce income tax in their annual declarations. The criminal procedure was taking place between 2018 and 2024.
According to preliminary findings obtained by investigators, the amount of donations transferred amounted to almost PLN 9 million, while the amount of income tax due is estimated to be close to PLN 4.5 million.
Procedural activities were conducted by officers of the CBA Regional Offices from Łódź, Warsaw, Kraków, Lublin, Katowice and Białystok. Accounting documentation and memory carriers were secured.
Preventive Measures
Against the suspected priest, the prosecutor applied to the court for a preventive measure in the form of temporary arrest. The court decided on his pre-trial detention for a period of three months. Against the remaining persons he applied property sureties in the amount of PLN 50,000 to 100,000 and police supervision.
CBA Press Team
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CBA
