According to Telewizja Republika’s findings, just one day after being transported from the Dominican Republic to Poland, Paweł Szopa decided to cooperate with investigators. “I will describe all the business entities I was involved in and my cooperation with RARS,” he said, according to the station’s access to his explanations. Szopa admitted that he had allegedly saved over 3 million złotys over the years for bribes but never actually gave the money to anyone.
Szopa, the founder of the “Red is Bad” clothing brand and subject to an Interpol Red Notice, was arrested in the Dominican Republic at the end of October 2024. The case involves an investigation into the Governmental Agency of Strategic Reserves (RARS) concerning potential abuses of authority and failures to fulfill duties by RARS employees in organizing and carrying out the purchase of goods.
On October 31 of last year—just one day after his extradition—Szopa, while giving testimony, admitted that he had notes on him related to cooperation with the Governmental Agency of Strategic Reserves during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Telewizja Republika obtained these explanations.
“I can reconstruct the contents of these notes, but I’m worried they might be misused by unauthorized parties. I will explain everything covered by all the charges, describe all the business entities I took part in, and discuss my cooperation with RARS,” Szopa told investigators.
Who Was Szopa Talking About?
In the further part of his testimony, specific names and details of his collaboration with the state agency emerged.
“After completing the first two or three contracts, I was approached by Paweł K. on behalf of Kuczmierowski. He was also on that team; they knew each other, worked together. I knew they were friends—buddies from scouting or somewhere else. He suggested I set aside a portion of the money from each order for them: specifically, one grosz per item. Since the orders involved millions of pieces, the sum was quite large,” the clothing brand owner testified.
Szopa explained that “the mechanism involved eventually having to hand over that accumulated money to them in some way.” He added, “I believed my products were competitive, but I was afraid they might cause trouble if I didn’t pass on the money,” emphasizing that it was Paweł K. who informed him of this plan.
“It was supposed to be for K. K. said it would go to K. and Kuczmierowski, and they would divide it between themselves, but I’m not sure how.”
More Than 3 Million Złotys in Total
He clarified that he kept these funds in a company account but never turned them over. This amount was around 2–3 million złotys, and as more orders came in, the total grew beyond 3 million złotys.
“K. came up with various ideas for how to transfer the money—for instance, in cash or through a business. (…) I didn’t feel safe with those ideas,” the suspect emphasized in his testimony.
Szopa also noted that the accumulated sum is part of the assets now frozen by the prosecutor’s office, according to these statements.