Extortion in PARP, further steps in investigation
The officers of the Regional Office of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau in Gdańsk, in cooperation with the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, have detained another individual suspected of involvement in extortion, practised in the years 2013 - 2015, of an EU grant, amounting over PLN 20 million, to implement a project within the Operational Programme Innovative Economy carried out by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. The entity that applied for and eventually was granted the support was a commercial law company dealing in furniture production, seated in the Wielkopolskie Voivodship.
The detainee will be presented with charges including laundering the proceeds of crime, involvement in the activities of an organised crime group, and extortion of property of a significant value.
This is another step in the case connected with last year’s detentions of 18 individuals within the investigation into EU funds extortion in the amount of PLN 27 million. To date, 25 individuals have been presented with charges. Two individuals have been remanded in custody.
The total amount of the extorted funds amounts to over PLN 47 million.
The criminal practice was also continued at the stage of the support settlement. The perpetrators provided fraudulent documents involving higher costs than actually incurred, including inaccurate VAT invoices which also certified intrue statements.
The detainee will be presented with charges in the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk.