Warsaw prosecutor launches investigation of Caracal tender

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw has launched an investigation into the tender for the Caracal helicopters for the Polish military, Michał Dziekański, spokesman for the prosecutor, announced. The basis of the investigation is Article 231 of the Criminal Code, which provides for up to three years’ imprisonment for negligence of duties or malfeasance. Another basis is Article 305, which also provides for up to three years’ imprisonment for seeking material gain by impeding a public tender or entering into an agreement to the detriment of the institution carrying out the tender. Last year, the Law and Justice (PiS) party alleged that the tender requirements favored one of the bidders, Airbus. According to PiS, the then Minister of Defense Tomasz Siemoniak, Deputy Minister Czesław Mroczek, and persons subordinate to them may have committed crimes. “The Prosecutor's Office will examine the entire process of the purchase of Caracal helicopters, i.e., the negotiations, the signing of the contract, and then later the withdrawal of the French side from the offset commitments,” National Public Prosecutor Bogdan Święczkowski said.