Justice Minister orders investigation into PKN Orlen

Justice Minister Stanislaw Iwanicki has ordered an investigation into alleged irregularities by oil giant PKN Orlen, the State prosecutor's office announced on Friday. "The decision to look into the company came after a tip-off from a PKN Orlen insider concerning serious irregularities," Iwanicki said. The charges against PKN Orlen relate to bookkeeping and VAT irregularities. According to the prosecutor's office, the losses caused to the country by the lack of supervision over the company's activities could amount to billions of zlotys. The company's management deny the accusations and claim the whole affair is an attempt to drag PKN Orlen into some harmful "intrigue" relating to its sale. PKN Orlen is currently seeking a buyer for 17.58% of its shares. The two rival bidders are MOL of Hungary and OMV of Austria, both willing to spend around zl.2.2 billion on the purchase. However, the deal may not be realized as the likely Finance Minister under the new Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) government, Marek Belka, has said that in light of the investigation the sale is unacceptable. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) J.K.