Legia football club troubles set to grow failing PZU investment

The biggest insurance company, PZU, may not be able to invest in Warsaw-based football club Legia Warszawa without infringing its internal investment regulations. According to documents revealed by Rzeczpospolita, the purchase of 80% of Legia from Pol-Mot Holding was rejected by PZU's internal investment committee a month ago. The decision bars any PZU investment in Legia, as without the committee's approval the proposal cannot be passed onto the board of directors for consideration. In April, PZU decided to withdraw from investing in any non-public company. A further obstacle is the capital engagement limit of euro 1 million, while the Pol-Mot offer is close to euro 2 million. The situation is aggravated even more by the poor standing of the football club itself. The club's debt accumulated over the last few years now stands at zl. 10.8 million, and after the first seven months of 2002 new losses of zl. 7.8 million have been added which means the club may soon face loss of liquidity. (Rzeczpospolita, B5) J.K.