Kluska wants to settle in court
The ex-chief executive of Optimus is seeking zł.1.4 million in compensation for his "wrongful arrest" two years ago when he was accused of a major tax scam.
A well-known entrepreneur and charity worker, he was eventually cleared of the alleged fraud. But as the legal proceedings rumbled on he was required to place a huge bail bond in a police deposit for 16 months.
"Because I was forced to pay the zł.8 million bail bond, my overall financial situation was severely effected," Roman Kluska told the WBJ. "In order to obtain such a large sum of money I had to cancel my fixed money deposit, which required me to pay the bank interest that was already accrued. The amount of that interest was enormous. What I am asking the court for is a very insignificant number in comparison to what I have lost."
Kluska was accused, alongside senior managers of the computer retailer, of tax evasion by organizing a fictional computer export. Between 1998 and 1999 the business had been exporting computers, which were then imported back by various schools through contracts issued by the Ministry of Education.
Tax rules at the time made importation of these computers tax-free while their sale was taxed at 22 percent domestically. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the National Treasury lost zł.10 million due to this export mechanism.
Kluska says the legal fiasco led to significant losses. "I am not looking for any revenge-not even justice. I just want it to serve as a warning to other businessmen because doing business in Poland is very risky. The law is corrupted and it does not protect or serve its citizens," he says.
Lawyers say it is difficult to speculate on the outcome of the action. A partner at White & Case, Lech Giliciński, believes that since the Administrative Supreme Court decided that no crime was committed and the investigation caused Kluska financial loss, there are legal grounds for the case.
If Kluska wins the action he lodged last week at the District Court in Kraków he says he will donate the compensation to a charitable cause. "The money I was keeping in my fixed deposit was supposed to build a nursing home in the Nowy Sącz area. If I get the settlement it will help to start the project; however, I must say that the sum that I am asking for will not even cover the necessities," says Kluska.
Kluska is now focusing his entrepreneurial skills on a Christian internet book store called PRODOX and trying to come up with ways to make sheep farming cheaper for Polish farmers. However, he says he is not planning to become active in the Polish business world until the law is reformed. Kluska says he has lost so much already that he cannot afford to put himself at risk again.
A well-known entrepreneur and charity worker, he was eventually cleared of the alleged fraud. But as the legal proceedings rumbled on he was required to place a huge bail bond in a police deposit for 16 months.
"Because I was forced to pay the zł.8 million bail bond, my overall financial situation was severely effected," Roman Kluska told the WBJ. "In order to obtain such a large sum of money I had to cancel my fixed money deposit, which required me to pay the bank interest that was already accrued. The amount of that interest was enormous. What I am asking the court for is a very insignificant number in comparison to what I have lost."
Kluska was accused, alongside senior managers of the computer retailer, of tax evasion by organizing a fictional computer export. Between 1998 and 1999 the business had been exporting computers, which were then imported back by various schools through contracts issued by the Ministry of Education.
Tax rules at the time made importation of these computers tax-free while their sale was taxed at 22 percent domestically. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the National Treasury lost zł.10 million due to this export mechanism.
Kluska says the legal fiasco led to significant losses. "I am not looking for any revenge-not even justice. I just want it to serve as a warning to other businessmen because doing business in Poland is very risky. The law is corrupted and it does not protect or serve its citizens," he says.
Lawyers say it is difficult to speculate on the outcome of the action. A partner at White & Case, Lech Giliciński, believes that since the Administrative Supreme Court decided that no crime was committed and the investigation caused Kluska financial loss, there are legal grounds for the case.
If Kluska wins the action he lodged last week at the District Court in Kraków he says he will donate the compensation to a charitable cause. "The money I was keeping in my fixed deposit was supposed to build a nursing home in the Nowy Sącz area. If I get the settlement it will help to start the project; however, I must say that the sum that I am asking for will not even cover the necessities," says Kluska.
Kluska is now focusing his entrepreneurial skills on a Christian internet book store called PRODOX and trying to come up with ways to make sheep farming cheaper for Polish farmers. However, he says he is not planning to become active in the Polish business world until the law is reformed. Kluska says he has lost so much already that he cannot afford to put himself at risk again.
