CENTRAL ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAU CBA Arrests in Investigation into Subsidy Fraud and Money Laundering - News

On 27 October, officers from the CBA Regional Office in Łódź detained two women and three men in the Lower Silesian, Mazovian and Łódź Voivodeships. Those detained in Lower Silesia included a former president of the management board and a former commercial proxy of a Wrocław-based company with capital links to the “Łódź criminal group”, as well as a German national serving as president of the management board of a Wrocław-based company that assisted the group in fraudulently obtaining a subsidy from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

The other two detainees were a former restructuring administrator and an accountant linked to the “Łódź criminal group”. CBA officers also conducted searches at several locations.

Multi-Faceted Investigation

Officers from the CBA Regional Office in Łódź are conducting a multi-faceted investigation into, among other offences, irregularities in the acquisition and trading of real estate, activities detrimental to identified companies, the misappropriation of company funds and properties, subsidy fraud, certification of false information in documents (including by public officials), and money laundering involving a group of companies linked through capital and/or personal relationships and operating in the restructuring sector.

The companies were effectively controlled by an individual who had no formal authority to manage them. The total amount of funds involved in the criminal activities is estimated at approximately PLN 200 million.

The criminal scheme involved the unlawful acquisition of funds, real estate and other assets belonging to entities facing the risk of bankruptcy proceedings. The assets obtained in this manner were subsequently transferred to companies controlled by the individual leading the criminal group.

PLN 17 Million in Concealed Funds

The detained restructuring administrator exceeded his authority in order to secure financial benefits for the “Łódź criminal group” and personal benefits for himself. To this end, he arranged for funds totalling PLN 17 million and USD 1.2 million to be concealed in deposit accounts held by a notary's office in Warsaw.

These activities were unrelated to any notarial services performed by the office and were intended to obstruct enforcement proceedings initiated by creditors in connection with restructuring proceedings.

Furthermore, while serving as restructuring administrator, he concluded a consultancy agreement with the then president of the company's management board, despite the fact that the scope of the consultancy services overlapped with the president's existing responsibilities. The consultancy costs, exceeding PLN 700,000, were detrimental to the interests of the company's creditors.

The company undergoing restructuring proceedings was managed by individuals associated with the “Łódź criminal group”. Since June 2026, pursuant to a decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw, the company has been taken over by the State Treasury, represented by the Industrial Development Agency.

Another individual detained in connection with this aspect of the investigation is an accountant linked to the “Łódź criminal group”. Acting on the instructions of one of the group's members, the woman allegedly handled funds amounting to PLN 2.4 million derived from criminal activities. The purpose of these transactions was to prevent or significantly hinder the identification of the funds' criminal origin.

Subsidy Fraud

The entrepreneurs detained in Lower Silesia are suspected of involvement in fraudulently obtaining funds from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

Through capital and personal connections, a contract was allegedly concluded with an identified company owned by a member of the criminal group. The contract concerned the sale of specialised production lines for manufacturing plastic products. Its value was set at more than EUR 6.5 million net.

Subsequently, in order to fraudulently obtain a subsidy from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, represented by the Łódź Agency for Regional Development, the contract value was artificially inflated by more than PLN 10 million.

Charges and Preventive Measures

The detainees were brought before the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź, where they were charged with offences under Article 231 § 2, Article 299, and Article 18 § 3 in conjunction with Articles 286 and 284 § 1 of the Polish Penal Code.

The prosecutor imposed non-custodial preventive measures on the suspects, including police supervision, bans on leaving the country and financial sureties totalling PLN 690,000.

This was the third operation carried out in connection with the case. To date, 26 individuals have been identified as suspects in the investigation, of whom 25 have been detained.

CBA Press Office