Irregularities in the Procurement of Electric Buses
Officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau have detained four individuals in connection with an investigation into irregularities in the organisation and conduct of public procurement procedures for the purchase of electric buses for local government units. The investigation is being supervised by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Poznań.
On 24 June 2026, officers from the Regional Office of the CBA in Białystok detained three individuals who had held senior management positions at a company owned by the Industrial Development Agency (ARP), engaged in the production of zero-emission buses, as well as the director of one of the organisational units of the Municipal Office of the Town and Commune of Szamotuły. Operational activities were carried out in the Mazowieckie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Wielkopolskie provinces. With the assistance of officers from the Regional Offices of the CBA in Poznań and Bydgoszcz, searches were also conducted at the suspects’ residences, and documents and electronic data storage devices were secured.
Rigging Public Procurement Procedures
The findings of the investigation indicate that, between 2022 and 2024, business representatives entered into unlawful arrangements with officials representing local government units and exerted illegal influence over the preparation of public procurement procedures. These activities involved tailoring the tender specifications and procurement conditions to favour a particular bidder, thereby ensuring that the bidder’s offer would win the contract. Once the contracts had been awarded, buses that failed to meet the technical parameters and contractual requirements were delivered. However, due to the failure of local government officials to fulfil their duties, the vehicles were accepted as compliant with the tender specifications.
Charges and Preventive Measures
The detained individuals were brought before the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Poznań, where they were charged with, among other offences, bid-rigging in public procurement procedures and abuse of official powers resulting in detriment to the public interest. All suspects admitted to committing the offences they were charged with. The prosecutor imposed non-custodial preventive measures, including financial bail, police supervision combined with a prohibition on contacting specified individuals, a ban on leaving the country together with the seizure of passports, and suspension from their positions in local government.
The Investigation Is Ongoing
This is the first development in the ongoing preparatory proceedings. The investigation remains ongoing, and further procedural activities are planned.
CBA Press Team
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CBA
