Former Defense Ministry official Zbigniew F. facing corruption charges

The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office yesterday charged Zbigniew F., the former assistant to dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Romuald Szeremietiew, with corruption. The prosecutor declined to give any details about the case. But according to Rzeczpospolita, in July the accused tried to extort $100,000 from a company participating in the bid to supply the Polish army with howitzers. The report cites several other occasions on which Zbigniew F. demanded money from representatives of defense suppliers. He is also alleged to have accessed confidential documents, despite the fact that he was not authorized to view secret ministry files. Zbigniew F. was apprehended last month on a ship bound for Sweden, at a time when, according to Szeremietiew, he was in Poland. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4) P.W.