The Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) have detained the mayor of Włochy district and a well-known developer from Warsaw. Both men were caught red-handed exchanging a bribe for favourable construction planning decision.
The information was published on Tuesday in a statement. Both men were detained in an operation carried out by the Warsaw branch of the CBA."The mayor of Włochy district in Warsaw was caught red-handed right after accepting 200.000 zlotys. The money was handed by a well-known developer and construction business owner. The district mayor was trying to hide the money in a garage owned by his family," said the spokesman for the CBA, Temistokles Brodowski.
TVN24 reporter Agnieszka Veljković has learned that both men had been under CBA's scrutiny for a long time. "After the mayor took the money, the CBA officers followed him home and approached him the moment he was repacking the money," the reporter said. According to investigators, in exchange for bribes, the mayor Artur W. (Civic Platform) was issuing decisions favourable for the developer regarding construction conditions for new investements in włochy district.
Another tranche
"He was also involved in fixing similar decisions in other offices in Warsaw. According to the information gathered in the course of the investigation, most likely, it was already another tranche accepted by the mayor," Brodowski said.The CBA officers searched the mayor's office and premises of the companies owned by the businessman. Documents, disks and binary copies were secured. All are to be used as evidence.Both detained men were taken to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw. The CBA said that they would be charged soon. "At the moment we're waiting for the case files. Before the questioning, the prosecutor must get familiar with the documents," the spokesperson for the District Prosecutor's Office, Łukasz Łapczynski told tvnwarszawa.pl.
Warsaw mayor's reaction
On Tuesday afternoon, the Warsaw city hall issued a statement by mayor Rafał Trzaskowski regarding the mayor pf Włochy being detained by the CBA."Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski cancelled all plenipotentiary powers and mandates that the mayor of Włochy had been granted," reads the statement. Trzaskowski also filed a request at the hands of the district council head, Sylwia Ciekańska, to recall Artur W. from office.According to unofficial information by Polish Press Agency (PAP) from sources in Warsaw's branch of Civic Platform, the mayor is to be recalled at the district council's session, at the start of next week.
Troubles of Artur W. According to unofficial information, the second detained man is Sabri B., the owner of a number of companies and former owner of Pogoń Szczecin football club.
In the previous term, Artur W. was deputy mayor of Bielany district. In August, he was charged in connection to a tragic accident that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old girl on rollerblades, which took place on an unfinished bike lane in Stawy Kellera park. According to investigators, as deputy mayor responsible for investements in the district he "failed to provide safe usage conditions of the construction object".
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvnwarszawa.pl