Former WSE head among arrested in an anti-corruption probe

The anti-corruption agency CBA arrested six people, including former deputy treasury minister and WSE CEO Paweł T. (name withheld due to Polish privacy laws), in an investigation into the privatization of WSE-listed chemical firm Ciech. The prosecution plans to charge the arrested with negligence and abuse of power for material gain. Paweł T. served as the deputy treasury minister at the time, when Kulczyk Investments, acquired a 37.9 percent stake in Ciech in a tender for PLN 619 million, which according to prosecution is PLN 110 million less than the market price. Among arrested are three other former ministry officials and two managers from ING Securities, which at the time advised the Treasury on the Ciech deal. Kulczyk Investments has said the price offered in the tender was deemed fair by Ciech management and that a restructuring had helped raise Ciech’s market value since then.