Confusion surrounds Lodz court ruling in 4Media case

Media and Marketing Polska (MMP) information service yesterday announced that the district court in Lodz had frozen the bank accounts of the 4Media company and placed the company's assets in the hands of the receivers. According to the Rzeczpospolita daily, the court's decision, made on May 9, also hands over to the receivers the company's affiliates, among them the Dom Wydawniczy Wolne Slowo publishing house, publisher of the Zycie daily. However, 4Media spokeswoman, Monika Sarnecka, said that the company had not been notified of the court's decision. To add to the confusion, deputy president of 4Media, Dariusz Kaszubski, described as nonsense reports that a board of receivers had been established. The management board of 4Media is accused of deliberately trying to keep the court's decision secret. "Such a failure to provide information may result in a company being fined zl.500,000," said spokesman for the Securities and Stock Exchange Commission (KPWiG), Miroslaw Kachniewski. The developments stem from an original court case in which media group OMD Poland accused 4Media of failing to pay off it debts totalling zl.1.8 million. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) M.T..