Arms production scandal involving ex-PM investigated by services - minister
The so-called ammunition scandal has been very closely analysed by the secret services, a Polish deputy defence minister said in reference to the recent article publicising the story of possible irregularities in arms production.
On Monday, the Onet website published a report indicating that the previous socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, which is now in opposition, failed to guarantee the security of the state by transferring ammunition production to private manufacturers lacking prior experience in this area.
The issue concerned a government programme dubbed the 'National Arms Reserve' for the establishment of a factory meant to produce 155 millimetre calibre ammunition. The programme was initiated by the PiS government, led by Mateusz Morawiecki, in the first half of 2023 and was meant to be carried out by the Polska Amunicja company, composed of the Industrial Development Agency JSC and three private subjects without experience in arms production.
According to Onet, a week before the end of his term in office as prime minister, Morawiecki signed a "secret resolution ordering the purchase of missiles worth PLN 12 million (EUR 2.81 mln)" from the company.
Onet wrote that currently, the Ministry of National Defence is questioning the validity of Morawiecki's decision, stating that, in this case, the interest of the Polish state had not been appropriately secured. According to documents obtained by the website, the ministry calls for a halt to the programme and proclaims the need to notify the prosecutor's office.
"The 'ammunition scandal' has been, over the past few months, very thoroughly analysed by the civil and military secret services," Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk wrote on the X platform on Monday after the release of the Onet article.
The issue was later also addressed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who in his post referred to Morawiecki personally and past scandals he had been involved in.
"Mateusz, the fact that you can make money on respirators, masks, visas and energy generators, has been common knowledge for a while. But ammunition too? And 14 billion (PLN = EUR 3.28 bln - PAP) worth of it?" Tusk wrote on X.
Morawiecki responded: "Mister Donald, had you been in power at the time - you would have waited for the delivery of German helmets rather than build a Polish arms factory."
In his post, Tusk pointed to the fact that several media reports from the past year have exposed past cases of fraudulent behaviour by Morawiecki and other members of Poland's previous government, now the main opposition camp. The scandals revolved around the results of an audit which claimed that nearly PLN 200 million (EUR 46.45 mln) were improperly spent on personal protective equipment during the pandemic in 2020–2021, an instance of profiting from the purchase of power generators for the time of war as well as prevalent illegal issuing of Polish visas for financial gain. (PAP)
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