BGM Petrotrade president Jan B. held in custody over "fuel affair" fraud

A Krakow court yesterday temporally detained the president and co-owner of BGM Petrotrade Poland, Jan B. on charges of participating in the "fuel affair". Even though many prosecutors across the country are working on the "fuel affair", Jan B.'s detention is the first. The Krakow prosecution accused him of being a member of an organized crime group, a fuel swindler and money launderer. "Charging him may be a real turning point in the investigation," said an officer working on the case. He also said there ware hopes that Jan B. may now want to co-operate with the prosecution to soften his eventual sentence. The participants of the "fuel affair", dubbed by the press "alchemists", were importing diesel oil as heating oil, thus avoiding excise tax. They were also illegally producing fuel based on untaxed components. BGM was covered as they had been sponsoring political parties. However, last year journalists at Gazeta Wyborcza discovered and publicized the fraud. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 12) A.D.