Biznes Fakty
NIK files notifications to the prosecutor's office regarding RARS
The Supreme Audit Office is set to submit two notifications to the prosecutor’s office on Monday concerning the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves (RARS), as reported by TVN24 journalist Jan Piotrowski. This action was previously announced by the head of the Supreme Audit Office, Marian Banaś, last week.
According to Jan Piotrowski, following the RARS audit, NIK will proceed to file two notifications with the prosecutor’s office on Monday.
– We are currently conducting analyses to prepare multiple notifications, not just a single one, directed at the prosecutor’s office and the Central Anticorruption Bureau due to the irregularities identified by NIK auditors within the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves – stated NIK spokesman Marcin Mariański.
Marian Banaś on irregularities in RARS
Previously, these actions were declared on TVP Info by the head of the Chamber, Marian Banaś. He noted that public funds within RARS had been utilized in a wasteful manner. – We are discussing amounts in the range of several dozen million. These figures are substantial, and it is entirely inappropriate that without adhering to the principles of competition, as outlined in Article 44 of the Public Finances Act (…) our public funds, which ought to be spent judiciously, are squandered – remarked Banaś.
He further mentioned that „virtually all tenders were manipulated.” Information was provided orally or via notes regarding from whom goods should be procured, or who should act as the intermediary for the acquisition of goods for RARS – stated Banaś. He emphasized that „this is an intolerable, criminal act.” – Our auditors are preparing a notification to the prosecutor’s office concerning this matter – announced the president of NIK.
He indicated that there will be „one notification regarding the case, and another directed against specific individuals who were involved, as they bear personal responsibility for their actions.”
RARS Abuse
The Silesian Division of the PK has been investigating anomalies in the operations of RARS since April 12, 2024. This inquiry was initiated on December 1, 2023, at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw and has been assigned to the CBA, the Mazovian Customs and Tax Office, and the Internal Affairs Bureau of the Police.
The proceedings were initiated based on information collected by the CBA and two notifications of suspected criminal activity submitted by the General Inspector of Financial Information. According to the PK, the evidence gathered supports the suspicion that there were abuses committed in the execution of tasks within RARS, including provisions that enabled the Agency to circumvent the procedures outlined in the Public Procurement Law.
To date, 21 charges have been filed against eight individuals in the investigation, including the former RARS president Michał Kuczmierowski (who consents to his surname being used), three other Agency officials, and Paweł S. – the founder of the Red is Bad brand. The charges particularly pertain to involvement in an organized criminal group, exceeding authority by public officials, money laundering, and exerting influence within a public institution. They also involve irregularities in the Agency’s expenditures totaling no less than PLN 340 million.
