Poland reopens investigation into gambling tax irregularities

An investigation into gambling tax irregularities that had been closed during the Tusk administration has been reopened.

Poland.- National public prosecutor, Bogdan Święczkowski, decided to reopen a 2006 – 2011 investigation. The case files he analyzed include the removal from the original case of a prosecutor who had planned to bring charges against the deputy minister of finance at the time of the scandal.

The case resulted in several top government officials stepping down, including then-Interior Minister and Deputy PM Grzegorz Schetyna (current leader of the opposition Civic Platform party).

The scandal went public when a Polish newspaper revealed meetings between Tusk government ministers and gambling industry representatives in 2009 on the registration of slot machines, which were subsequently followed by lobbying to stop the implementation of increased taxation on betting.

The District Prosecutor’s Office closed the original investigation in April 2011 on grounds that there was not enough evidence to win a criminal court case.