Fraudulent investments in Poland and Africa. Four individuals have been detained.
At least 152 people have been harmed financially for at least PLN 16 million. The CBA officers have detained four people involved in irregularities in financial advisory services provided by companies including the Great Private Equity group.
President and Vice-President of the Great Private Equity company as well as two regional directors from Poznań and Kraków have been detained by the officers of the CBA Regional Office in Warsaw. The activities were conducted in Warsaw, Siemianowice Śląskie, and Kraków. That was the first operation carried out in connection with the investigation conducted jointly by the CBA and the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw. Extensive evidence gathered in the case, including documentation, electronic data and testimonies of witnesses, indicate that at least 152 persons were brought to a disadvantageous disposition of property of not less than PLN 16 million. The proceedings pertain to issuing bonds and making investments on the FOREX market by companies involving those of the Great Private Equity Group. The investments included real estate located in Warsaw, Nigeria, and Ghana, as well as film production. The companies' clients invested their savings in bonds, which were expected to yield 8 to 10 per cent. Due to the initial repayment of the bonds, the investors were offered reinvestments, in which the profit was supposed to be guaranteed. However, after a certain time, the company's representatives avoided contact with the investors, who lost their previously invested money. The current findings indicate that individual investors lost from PLN 1 thousand to even over PLN 3.5 million.
The public prosecutor pressed charges of fraud to the detriment of the persons investing and conducting business in the area of trading in financial instruments without the required permission of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).
After carrying out the procedural activities, the prosecutor submitted motions for temporary detention for two suspects, i.e. the president and the vice-president. The court applied the temporary detention taking into account the motions of the prosecutor.
Against the remaining suspects, the prosecutor applied non-custodial preventive measures in the form of police supervision, bail, a ban on leaving the country combined with the withholding of their passports.
We request all persons who entrusted their money to companies of the Great Private Equity group to contact the CBA Regional Office in Warsaw.
We also remind of the possibility of verifying whether an institution is on the KNF warning list — link: https://www.knf.gov.pl/en/CONSUMERS/Information_for_the_financial_market_consumers/Public_warnings
Public Relations Division of the CBA
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