PKP fraud that cost PHARE millions of złoty

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚ) on Sunday and Monday arrested 32 persons connected to Polish State Railways (PKP) on suspicion of beguiling the PHARE fund of tens of million of złoty. The money was spent on fictitious repairs on railway stations on the Rzepin-Warsaw route. "We are not even able to give a real estimate on the value of the loss. Experts are still working on that issue and the number of invoices in question is growing. We are talking about at least several million złoty," said CBŚ Poznań director, Jerzy Jakubowski. Among the arrested are Jerzy B., the investment director of the company, two heads of PKP dependent companies involved in the tenders, representatives of the companies carrying out the renovations and three Poznań building inspectors. Some 18 of the arrested have were questioned by the prosecutor until Monday afternoon. According to unofficial sources no one has yet confessed to any crime. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Komunikaty Gospodarka supplement, p. 1) M.K.