The plane with Paweł Szopa on board landed on Wednesday evening at Warsaw Chopin Airport. As Justice Minister Adam Bodnar wrote, the man “remains at the disposal of Polish prosecutors” and “actions with his participation have been planned for tomorrow.” Szopa, suspected of irregularities at the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves, was detained in the Dominican Republic.
The plane with the creator of the Red is Bad brand, Paweł Szopa, landed after 9 p.m. at Warsaw Chopin Airport. It was a plane PLL LOTwhich flew from Madrid.
The fact that Paweł Szopa is already in Poland and “remains at the disposal of Polish prosecutors” wrote the Minister of Justice, Attorney General Adam Bodnar. “Activities with his participation have been planned for tomorrow. I would like to thank, first of all, the prosecutors conducting the proceedings, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and the police for their close cooperation and involvement in the efficient return of Paweł S. to the country,” he said on social media.
Photo from the takeover of the Shed by police officers and CBA published by Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior and Administration. “After completing the necessary activities, he will be transported to Katowice,” he wrote. Earlier, TVN24 reporter Marta Abramczyk reported that this could happen tomorrow before noon. – He will be interrogated there and will hear charges – she said.
Anna Adamiak, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General, explained that in this situation the prosecutor does not have the so-called 48 hours to decide whether to file a request for his arrest, because Szopa, after crossing the Polish border and being taken over by the Polish services, is subject to the court's decision to arrest him. temporary arrest. – In this decision, the period of imprisonment is 30 days – emphasized Adamiak.
Paweł Szopa being taken out of the plane at Warsaw Chopin AirportLeszek Szymański//PAP
READ: Shed stuck in the Caribbean. “I am asking not to be detained in the local migrant detention center.”
Bodnar: This is a fundamental issue when it comes to explaining the irregularities in RARS
On Wednesday morning, in a conversation with journalists, Bodnar emphasized that bringing Szopa to Poland “is a fundamental issue when it comes to clarifying the regularities in the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves.”
– If we recall what resulted from the disclosed details of the “Walet” operation (CBA – ed.), there is a suspicion not only that these funds were wasted, but also whether they were perhaps used for other needs, including those political – he pointed out.
– Let's hope that further proceedings in this case will clarify a lot – he added.
Bodnar: This is a fundamental issue when it comes to explaining the irregularities in RARSTVN24
“It will be a sleepless night for Mateusz Morawiecki and Michał Dworczyk”
Rafał Stangreciak, the author of a reportage about the businessman and his company Red is Bad, spoke on Wednesday evening on TVN24 about what to expect from Szopa's testimony. – I think it will be a sleepless night for everyone Mateusz Morawiecki and Michał Dworczykbecause Michał K., the then president of the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves, who is currently awaiting extradition in British custody, reported directly to them – he said.
– I think Paweł Szopa will be very talkative. Recently I managed to talk to a person who knows him personally. According to this person's assumptions, Paweł Szopa will probably not want to take full responsibility for what happened in RARS and will not want to be responsible for the fact that half a billion Polish zlotys were transferred to his accounts – emphasized Stangreciak. As he added, “he apparently had little of this money for himself.”
Stangreciak: I think Paweł Szopa will be very talkativeTVN24
Wanted with an Interpol red notice
The suspect in the case of irregularities at the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves (RARS), Paweł Szopa – businessman, creator of the Red is Bad brand – was detained on Friday in Dominicans.
The National Prosecutor's Office announced in August this year that the decision to bring charges against the former head of RARS, Michał K. and Paweł Szopa, regarding irregularities in RARS was announced. This involves participation in an organized criminal group, failure to fulfill obligations and exceeding powers in order to obtain financial benefits.
Since October 10, Szopa was wanted with an Interpol red notice. Earlier, an arrest warrant and a European arrest warrant were issued for him.
Paweł SzopaZbyszek Kaczmarek/Forum
The entrepreneur has become a “supplier of everything”
The Onet portal wrote in June that “during the PiS era, the authorities concluded a kind of alliance with the creator of the 'Red is Bad' clothing brand, Paweł Szopa, to siphon off public money on an unprecedented scale,” and “for the team of (former Prime Minister Mateusz) Morawiecki, the entrepreneur became supplier of everything from protective equipment in a pandemic to power generators in war.
According to the portal, within three years alone, Szopa's accounts received transfers worth PLN 0.5 billion, and he received orders from the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves (RARS) without a tender; since the middle of last year, the case has been investigated by the Rzeszów branch of the CBA, and the offices of RARS and the entrepreneur's companies were searched in December.
READ: “This is a milestone in establishing the truth.” The head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration on the detention of Paweł Szopa
The investigation into irregularities in RARS was initiated on December 1, 2023. It is being conducted by the Silesian Branch of the Department of Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice. It concerns, among others: exceeding the powers and failure to fulfill duties by RARS employees when organizing and implementing the purchase of goods, and thus acting to the detriment of the public interest from February 23, 2021 to November 27, 2023 in Warsaw in order to obtain a financial benefit.
Main photo source: Jacek Dobrzyński/X