Two more people have been arrested in the investigation of a group suspected of money laundering. This is due to the actions taken by the police officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation in cooperation with the National Tax Administration. In total, 13 people have already been detained in the case and over 4 million zlotys have been secured.
A spokeswoman for the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police, Sub-Insp. Iwona Jurkiewicz informed that the investigation, in this case, was being carried out by police officers from the Podlasie Regional Bureau of Investigation in cooperation with officers from the Podlasie and Mazovia National Revenue Administration under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. “The collected material shows that since 2017, members of the group imported goods from Far Eastern countries and then sold them in stores operating in the country, mainly in Wólka Kosowska, without paying the due taxes,” explained the police officer.
“The items traded were a variety of appliances, including small appliances, toys, sports accessories and textiles. The goods were transported by sea and then by land, using fictitious Polish and foreign companies set up for the purpose of this procedure. The funds obtained in this way were transferred through further fictitious business entities to Asian countries,” pointed out the sub-inspector, adding that the gang members were able to transfer more than 72 million PLN in this way.
According to the investigators’ findings, as a result of this procedure, the State Treasury could incur losses of nearly PLN 14 million.
In turn, the spokeswoman of the Tax Administration Chamber in Warsaw, Justyna Pasieczyńska, emphasised that the previous week KAS officers and CBŚP officers had carried out further operations in Małopolskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Wielkopolskie, Mazowieckie and Śląskie Provinces. “Investigators searched 28 premises, including the headquarters of companies, accounting offices and the apartments of people connected with the revealed procedure,” calculated Justyna Pasieczyńska.
“During the operation, they secured documentation, computers, computer data carriers and stamps of various Polish and foreign business entities,” she stated. She added that two suspects were detained during the operation in Warsaw and the Wołomin district.
“The detainees were transported to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. Two men have heard charges relating to, among other things, participation in an organized criminal group to commit fiscal crimes, the commission of such crimes resulting in several million dollars of VAT evasion and money laundering,” said a spokesman for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, prosecutor Marcin Saduś.
“The court, at the prosecutor’s request, applied to them a preventive measure in the form of temporary arrest,” the prosecutor added.
There are 13 suspects in the investigation into the group, 11 of whom are charged with participating in an organized crime group, including one with leading the group. All suspects have heard charges of money laundering and committing criminal and fiscal offences.
During the operation, investigators secured property belonging to the suspects in the amount of over PLN 4 million.
As investigators point out, the case is developing and more arrests are possible.