The prosecutor's office returned to the case of importing a batch of useless masks to Poland during the pandemic. The investigation – discontinued during the PiS era – was undertaken by the Łódź regional prosecutor's office. Activities commissioned by it are carried out by the Internal Security Agency. As Onet revealed, the Internal Security Agency is investigating the involvement of Intelligence Agency officers in the scam.
The case is being handled by the regional prosecutor's office in Łódź. – The proceedings regarding the purchase of masks and other personal protective equipment by KGHM and Grupa Lotos were transferred to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź by the decision of the national prosecutor of July 5, 2024 – informed Magdalena Guga, spokeswoman for the Łódź unit, on Tuesday.
She added that “these proceedings were initiated, among others, by a notification submitted by the Supreme Audit Office.” – The only thing I can say about these proceedings at the moment is that the prosecutor, who is the referee of these proceedings, is successively obtaining and analyzing full documentation regarding transactions carried out by KGHM and Grupa LOTOS with two entities that served as intermediaries in importing and purchasing masks – said the spokeswoman.
She specified that these were two companies – Quantron and Kraft Import.
She added that “at the moment, the proceedings are conducted only in the case” and “there is no person against whom a decision to present charges has been issued.”
April 14, 2020. Transport of masks, Antonow An-225 at OkęcieLeszek Szymański/PAP
A large transport of masks that did not meet the standards
The case of the prosecutor's office returning to the investigation was first described by Onet. The case dates back to 2020. The Quantron company, established by former and current secret service agents, imported almost 11 million masks on behalf of the government to protect Poles during the pandemic. They flew to Warsaw, among others, on board the world's largest plane – Antonov An-225.
As Onet recalled, over nine million masks did not meet the standards. The prosecutor's office during the government PIS initiated an investigation into this matter, but quickly discontinued it.
April 14, 2020. Transport of masks, Antonow An-225 at OkęcieLeszek Szymański/PAP
As Onet writes, the subject of the renewed investigation is “the abuse of powers or failure to fulfill duties by public officials in the persons of the Prime Minister, the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, other employees and management of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of State Assets, by issuing KGHM Polska Miedź to State Treasury companies SA with its registered office in Lubin and Grupa Lotos SA with its registered office in Gdańsk, orders to implement activities in the field of counteracting COVID-19 consisting in the purchase of personal protective equipment.
Investigators are also investigating the circumstances of “issuing personal protective equipment to medical entities that did not meet the required standards, which resulted in a threat to the life or health of many people, causing an epidemiological threat, or the spread of an infectious disease, thus acting to the detriment of public and private interests.”
April 14, 2020. Transport of masks, Antonow An-225 at OkęcieLeszek Szymański/PAP
ABW engaged to clarify the case
According to the portal, the investigation is also investigating the involvement of Intelligence Agency officers in the scam.
As Onet writes, prosecutors delegated the activities related to the proceedings to the Internal Security Agency.
“The involvement of the Internal Security Agency – a service dealing with, among other things, civilian counterintelligence – to solve the case means that it will investigate one of the most mysterious operations of the Intelligence Agency,” the portal wrote.
Main photo source: Leszek Szymański/PAP