Sejm to discuss charges against Balcerowicz behind closed doors

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) has officially announced that the Internal Security Agency (ABW) has never turned to NBP president Leszek Balcerowicz with a request to clarify any of his decisions while acting as Finance Minister. This announcement was a direct result of a request of the Polish Families League (LPR), Self-Defense and the Polish Peasants Party (PSL) for the ABW to clarify alleged cases of lobbying activities in several important tenders and signed contracts, as was allegedly unofficially revealed by ABW president Andrzej Barcikowski. According to LPR leader Roman Giertych, such information should be presented to the Sejm during a closed meeting, so that Deputies could immediately consider the possibility to demand that Balcerowicz steps down from his post as NBP President. According to unofficial information, the case relates to a 1998 Finance Ministry decision, when Balcerowicz was acting as Finance Minister, which allowed drug importers to avoid paying excise duties, which could mean that the state lost several billion złoty. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 3) A.K.