Former head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) branch, who had broken the "Subcarpathian affair" case, was detained on Monday by the prosecutor's request - tvn24.pl and "Superwizjer" journalists have learned. Apart from him, the current chief of the Rzeszów branch of the Central Bureau of Police Investigations (CBŚP) and other two officers of this elite formation have been detained. All are to be charged in connection to the high-profile case of brothels in Rzeszów.
Before being appointed head of the CBA branch, Robert P. had already worked as the CBŚP officer, alongside Daniel Ś. - a well-known CBŚP officer from Rzeszów. The former has been detained as part of the investigation against the latter.
Detained to hear charges
"By the order of the prosecutor from the Lesser Poland Branch of the Department for Organised Crime and Corruption of the State Prosecutor's Office in Kraków, on 18 November, 2019, officers from the Internal Security Agency detained four people as part of an investigation into Daniel Ś., and previously also against brothels network owners, Alexei and Yevheniy R." - the spokesperson for the State Prosecutor's Office, Ewa Bialik informed.
The case of the R. brothers has been placed under separate inquiry. The indictment against them has already reached the court. The inquiry into Daniel Ś. is still ongoing.
"Among the detained there are two former CBŚP officers, one former CBA officer, and one current CBŚP officer. All detained are to hear charges. The prosecutor will decide whether or not to order preventive measures," prosecutor Bialik said.
The information about the identity of the detained has been confirmed by tvn24.pl and "Superwizjer" journalists with a number of sources, including those close to the inquiry.
Subcarpathian affair
Robert P. was the chief of the Rzeszów branch of the anti-corruption bureau. He was responsible for cracking the high-profile "Subcarpathian affair" case, that is uncovering links between an petrol industry businessman and two influential politicians - deputy treasury minister Jan B. from Polish People's Party and deputy infrastructure and development minister Zbigniew R. from Civic Platform.
According to the evidence collected by the branch led by Robert P., which is still used by courts in various trials, the businessman was not only corrupting politicians, but also an appeals prosecutor from Rzeszów, the chaplain of the Polish Special Forces, an influential prosecutor who served as advisor to several Prosecutors General.
Agents working under Robert P.'s command also got ahold of materials that helped to build a case regarding financial misconduct in Kraków courts. After Law and Justice came to power, he became the longest-serving chief of CBA branch. Although he had been nominated by Paweł Wojtunik, he retired as the last branch chief of his choice - in January 2017.
"Relentless and uncompromising"
"I know him personally and I know that he has always been relentless and uncompromising towards criminals. It was under his command when the CBA worked a multi-layered and quite complicated case later referred to as the "Subcarpathian spiderweb". I don't know why as part of which case the officer was detained but I simply cannot believe in his alleged culpability. One must always take into account criminal revenge after many years, especially after dozens of years of service, he certainly made plenty of enemies," a former spokesman for the CBA, Jacek Dobrzyński, said about the detention of Robert P.
Has Robert P. been detained in connection to his work for the CBA? The prosecutor's office refused to answer this and other questions. Our sources claim that his detention may be connected to his previous job at the Central Bureau of Police Investigations.
Ukrainian pimps
Robert P. has been detained in connection to the case of Alexei and Yevheniy R., brothers controlling a network of brothels in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The details of this story have been presented in report by "Superwizjer". Both brothers, of Ukrainian origin, are standing trial. The inquiry into Daniel Ś. involvement is ongoing but the prosecutor's office had dropped the most severe accusations against him.
In their report made two years ago, the "Superwizjer" journalists interviewed witnesses claiming that local public officers and bank directors allegedly had been recorded in the brothels controlled by the brothers R.
Autor: Maciej Duda, Robert Zieliński, Łukasz Ruciński, gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl, "Superwizjer" TVN