Marcin P., the founder of the infamous Amber Gold scheme, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after Poland’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal from his defense team. The court dismissed the appeal as “obviously groundless,” finalizing the conviction issued by the Gdańsk Court of Appeal in May 2022.
Amber Gold, one of Poland’s most notorious financial scandals, involved a fraudulent investment scheme that operated from 2009 to 2012. Marcin P. and his wife, Katarzyna P., were convicted of defrauding over 18,000 clients, resulting in losses of nearly 851 million złoty (about $200 million). While Marcin P. was sentenced to 15 years, his wife received 11.5 years in prison. Both were found guilty of running a pyramid scheme and making financial gain their primary goal.
The appeal case was handled by a three-judge panel, led by Adam Roch, with judges Anna Dziergawka and Antoni Bojańczyk. The ruling marks the end of a legal battle that began with the initial charges filed in 2012, following a lengthy investigation into the company’s unauthorized banking activities.
The Amber Gold scandal sparked widespread public outrage and led to a parliamentary inquiry, which concluded that the collapse of the company was due to systemic legal failures and government negligence in regulating financial activities.