The long shadow of corruption that haunts fuel sales

"The number of cars has grown by 40% since 1995, while in the same period the use of fuel fell by 3%", said Jaroslaw Kalinowski quoting a Central Statistical Office report. This means that the gray economy surrounding fuel is doing very well indeed and, according to Kalinowski, accounts for zl. 3.5 billion of lost budget revenues. Deputy Stanislaw Kalemba believes the gray zone encompasses 10% of the whole fuel market and costs the state between zl. 1-3 billion, while other Deputies place the figure as high as zl. 6-6.5 billion. The situation has forced the Treasury Ministry to consider putting tighter control over production and distribution of all kinds of fuel. The news was made public by Deputy Treasury Minister Robert Kwasniak on Friday. (Parkiet, March 15-16, p. 1; Gazeta Finansowa, March 15-21, p. 2) J.K.