Former top official detained over 2009 lobbying scandal

Piotr Kaczorek, a spokesman for Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), and Łukasz Janyst, a spokesman for the prosecution service, confirmed that a deputy finance minister who served from 2008 to 2015 had been detained.

Deputy Justice Minister Patryk Jaki named the former deputy minister as Jacek Kapica.

Jaki was cited by private broadcaster RMF FM as saying that Kapica’s detention “shows how seriously tax crimes are treated" by Poland's current conservative government.

The 2009 lobbying scandal saw gambling business and a handful of top politicians trying to water down a bill that aimed to increase taxes on slot machines.

The scandal sent political shockwaves across the nation and hurt the reputation of the former government of Donald Tusk, who is now president of the European Council.

The scandal broke out after Poland’s Rzeczpospolita daily reported that some members of parliament met gambling industry representatives in the summer of 2009 and later lobbied to stop proposed tax hikes on casinos and slot machines.

Some of the government’s top officials handed in their resignations in the wake of the scandal, including then-Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Schetyna, the current leader of the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party.

(vb/pk)

Source: PAP