Question marks remain over many of KGHM activities

The management of copper conglomerate KGHM tried to convince journalists, during a press conference yesterday, that Rzeczpospolita had published untruths in an article entitled, "Millions lost in the Congo," which claimed that investments in the Congo were suspicious. However, KGHM were unable to explain why the investment, so full of promise, has so far produced a zl. 100 million loss. Company president, Stanislaw Speczik, claims they were not cheated by its intermediary, Colmet, as it sold a rich copper ore source with it properties already known to company specialists and had been well documented. According to the article, after acquiring the rights to the copper ore, the company was still not sure what kind of mining method to employ and this is what caused some of the losses. Former company deputy president, Jerzy Dobrzanski, refuted this claim, which returns a question mark over the lost money. Speczik refuted the insinuations of Rzeczpospolita that KGHM had something to hide when it refused access to Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) inspectors to company records. According to him, the inspectors were overstepping their authority. Since then, NIK appealed to the courts and the inspectors were allowed back into the company to complete their investigation. Their findings could prove crucial. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A5) M.M.