Paweł Szopa is in South America. He may become a “small crown witness” – findings of “Rzeczpospolita”

“Rzeczpospolita” recalled on Thursday that the defenders of the former president of the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves, Michał K., and businessman Paweł Szopa, filed applications for the issuance of safe conduct letters to their clients. Both will be considered by the District Court in Warsaw.

“The court has set the hearing regarding Michał K.'s motion for October 1, there is no date for Paweł Szopa yet,” prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, spokesman for the National Prosecutor's Office, told “Rz”. The court returned Szopa's motion for supplementation.

Both suspects are connected by one investigation, conducted by the Silesian Department of Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice, concerning RARS orders for Paweł Szopa's company – Red is Bad, which was to deliver Ukraine power generators for PLN 350 million.

According to the prosecutor's office, the price for which RARS bought the devices from this company was inflated. Michał K. and Paweł Szopa left the country at the beginning of July. According to the prosecutor's office, this was an escape. K.'s defenders claim that he left for work, while Szopa's defenders claim that he left for a vacation, from which he did not return for fear of being arrested.

Michał K. was arrested on September 2 in London, the local court did not agree to his release on bail (he himself refused extradition), he has been arrested since then, and the procedures related to his extradition to Poland have begun. K. wants guarantees from the law enforcement agencies. A safe conduct would allow him to return and not be arrested, because as the regulations say, “by issuing a safe conduct, the court lifts the temporary arrest”.

The decision to temporarily arrest K. was issued by a British court. Would he be bound by the decision of another, Polish court? “I know from British lawyers dealing with extradition cases that this is the case. This is one extradition process, for one criminal proceeding in Poland,” attorney Luka Szaranowicz, K.'s defense attorney, told “Rzeczpospolita”.

The newspaper pointed out that in preparatory proceedings, a safe conduct may be issued at the request of the prosecutor or in the absence of his objection – the court decides on this. The Katowice prosecutor's office will not reveal whether it will file an objection. “We will inform the court about this at the session,” prosecutor Nowak told “Rz”. According to the newspaper's unofficial information, investigators see no grounds for issuing such guarantees to Michał K., fearing obstruction.

“Rz” reported that Paweł Szopa is in a different situation, as he is wanted on a warrant and a European Arrest Warrant. “According to our findings, he is in one of the South American countries. According to the Lexay law firm from Krakow, four countries on this continent do not respect extradition. These are Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. In this situation, will the prosecutor's office consider that, having no chance of extradition, they will agree to a safe conduct in order to continue the criminal proceedings? In the application for a safe conduct, Paweł Szopa submitted a notarial certification that he is in Germany,” “Rz” reported.

According to the newspaper, however, this information is no longer current and that is why the services have not been able to detain Szopa for two weeks. According to information from “Rzeczpospolita”, the prosecutor's office will want to use this against Szopa in the court that will consider his application. Attorney Jacek Dubois confirmed to the newspaper that the notarial certification was submitted.

According to information from “Rz”, Szopa is being encouraged to cooperate with the prosecutor's office, i.e. become a “minor crown witness” in exchange for an extraordinary leniency in the sentence.