Former transport minister detained on corruption charges

Poland's former Transport Minister Sławomir N. (last name withheld) was detained on Monday on charges of corruption, leading an organised crime group and money laundering, PAP was told by a spokesperson for the district prosecution in Warsaw.

Mirosława Chyr said that Sławomir N. had been detained as a result of an international investigation conducted by a team of prosecutors from Poland and Ukraine, as well as agents of Poland's Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) and the Ukrainian anti-corruption service NABU. The team was set up due to "the transnational nature of the organised crime group."

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said that the former Polish transport minister and the former head of the Ukrainian state road agency Ukrawtodor used his function to derive financial benefits for himself and third parties by offering road construction orders.

The announcement was made by Head of the Bureau Artem Sytnyk, who also said that an investigation had been launched in 2019. Sytnyk added that Sławomir N. had dual Polish-Ukrainian citizenship.

The value of tenders examined as part of the investigation related to the Ukrainian state road agency reached EUR 270 million, Sytnyk added.

Director of Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Maksym Hryshchuk explained that prosecutors are investigating Sławomir N's activities in the years 2016-2019.

According to the Ukrainian side, the investigation embraces four persons, three of them, including Sławomir N. have been detained in Poland. Hryshchuk added that further detentions are expected, also in Ukraine.

Apart from Sławomir N., CBA agents from Gdańsk, northern Poland, have also detained two persons, namely, the former head of the Grom special mission unit Dariusz Z. and a local businessman, Jacek P., the spokesman for the minister - special services coordinator wrote on Twitter on Monday.

The detained persons will be transported to Warsaw. Sławomir N. will hear six charges relating to his work for the Ukrainian state road agency Ukrawtodor.

Sławomir N. was Poland's transport minister in the years 2011-2013. In October 2016, he was appointed Ukrawtodor head. He resigned from the post in September 2019.