An expensive congress in Israel. The CBA’s notification
A two-day congress was held in Israel for selected local government servants and entrepreneurs for PLN 16 thousand per person. In total, PLN 1.5 million was submitted to one of Lublin foundations. The CBA’s findings indicate that the amounts were overestimated. The Bureau wants an investigation into the Chairman of the Lublin Airport S.A.
On the grounds of its own findings, the Regional Office of the CBA in Lublin has notified the District Prosecutor's Office in Lublin of the possibility of having perpetrated an offense of the abuse of powers (art. 296 § 1 of the Criminal Code) by the Chairman of the Lublin Airport S.A. through allocating over PLN 1.5 million to a congress held in Israel, promoting the region, which resulted in a wasteful management of the company assets. The contract was signed with one of newly established (in February this year) Lublin foundations by direct agreement, and the amount of PLN 1.5 million significantly differed from current market prices.
120 individuals were selected to participate in the conference held in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 18–19 June 2016. The participants included the representatives of the Lublin Airport S.A., the Marshal Office of the Lublin Voivodship and the Lublin City Hall, local colleges and universities as well as local entrepreneurs. However, only 96 individuals left for Israel although the full amount was paid out. The travel cost amounted to PLN 16 thousand per one participant.
The CBA officers verified the quotation in the contract concluded between the Lublin Airport S.A. and the foundation against the average market prices. The quotation was found to be significantly inflated, even doubled. Moreover, it included undocumented and difficult to verify costs, such as scene technique – PLN 95 thousand, or hostesses – PLN 12 thousand.
The findings of the CBA officers may lead to a conclusion of a doubtful and unreal estimation of the costs envisaged for the organisation of the trip by the foundation.
It is worth noticing that if the trip had been organised by the Marshal Office of the Lubelskie Voivodship or by the Lublin City Hall, the local governments would have been obliged to comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, with respect to the principle of competitive selection. The activity of the PLL S.A. (Polish Airlines) results from the charter of the airport and does not cover the activity of the airport undertaken on behalf and for the benefit of third entities. Only four individuals from the PLL S.A. participated in the trip.
The Bureau requested the Prosecutor’s Office to delegate the proceedings in its entirety to the Regional Office of the CBA in Lublin.
Piotr Kaczorek, CBA
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An expensive congress in Israel. The CBA’s notification
