Polish prosecutors indict 27 for extortion

The Polish prosecution indicted 27 individuals for the alleged extortion of EU funds worth some PLN 3 mln from the Polish Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARiMR), the Polish media reported December 2.

“27 individuals were indicted with a total of 92 charges for providing untruthful statements in order to obtain financial support from the ARiMR in the [southern Polish] Podkarpackie region,” Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesman of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), told Biznes.pl newswire. “Preliminary estimates point to some PLN 3 mln in undue proceeds.”

According to the prosecution’s preliminary findings, land owners applied for and were given financial bonuses for their land from the ARiMR, while the land was in fact being exploited by other individuals.

The extortion came to light following an audit carried out by the CBA in the regional offices of the ARiMR in the cities of Jaroslaw and Przemysl between May 2012 and February 2013. The audit covered the years between 2009-2011.