KOWR Case Concluded with an Indictment
The preparatory proceedings conducted by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau have been concluded with the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw filing an indictment with the Regional Court in Warsaw. The indictment covers a total of 19 individuals, including former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski and former senior officials of the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR).
Complex Nature of the Case
The investigation was initiated and conducted by the Regional Office of the CBA in Warsaw on the basis of its own materials. The proceedings concerned irregularities in the granting, in 2018–2019, by KOWR of bank and credit guarantees to Eskimos S.A. and the Bielmlek Dairy Cooperative. As a result of the execution of guarantees in favor of Eskimos S.A., KOWR paid out nearly PLN 100 million, while in the Bielmlek case—according to investigators—there were purposeless and uneconomical public expenditures amounting to PLN 30 million.
The complex nature of the case required the establishment of an investigative team composed of prosecutors from the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw and officers of the Warsaw Regional Office of the CBA.
Indictment
On 31 December 2025, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw filed an indictment with the Regional Court in Warsaw, among others, against Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski—Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the years 2018–2020; Tadeusz R.—Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2018–2019 and President of the Bielmlek Dairy Cooperative; Piotr S.—Director General of the National Support Centre for Agriculture in 2018–2019; and Grzegorz P.—Director General of the National Support Centre for Agriculture in 2019–2020.
Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski was charged with abuse of authority and failure to fulfill official duties in order to obtain financial benefits for the indicated entities. The charges relate to two strands: granting Eskimos S.A. guarantees totaling PLN 100 million despite the company’s poor financial condition, and enabling the granting of a credit guarantee of up to PLN 30 million to the Bielmlek Dairy Cooperative, also despite its difficult financial situation.
The indictment concerns offences under Article 231 § 2 of the Criminal Code, punishable by imprisonment from one to ten years.
Tadeusz R.—former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development—and Piotr S. and Grzegorz P.—former Directors General of the National Support Centre for Agriculture—were charged with abuse of authority and acting to the detriment of the public interest.
Four suspects, including Piotr S.—Director General of KOWR in 2018–2019—and Stanisław S.—President of the Management Board of Eskimos S.A., pleaded guilty and voluntarily submitted to punishment.
On 20 February 2025, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland consented to holding Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski criminally liable.
CBA Press Team
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CBA
