The Amber Gold case returns to the court. The court of second instance will deal with a collective lawsuit

On June 30, the Court of Appeal in Warsaw appointed an appeal hearing on group lawsuit over 200 Amber Gold clients. In 2022, the Court of first instance accepted this claim and awarded the amounts requested from the State Treasury. Currently, together with interest, it will be a total of at least PLN 25 million.

The basic conclusion of the justification of the decision of the Court of first instance was the statement that “the main problem and source of unlawfulness in this case is that the actual activities of the investigation (on Amber Gold – PAP) of a correct nature were taken with significant delay by law enforcement authorities and this is the complex nature of the unlawfulness of the State Treasury.”

From that judgment, as to its essence, the general prosecutor's general prosecutor's office made an appeal. In relation to some aspects of this case, the proxies of the Amber Gold client group also made appeals.

The first of the appeal held took place on Monday. However, the Court of Appeal during it stopped at formal issues, including Until the next hearing, he decided to verify the group members based on the PESEL base. Since the decision of the District Court – as it resulted from the information of the parties – some members of the group died.

The Amber Gold case was one of the louder scandals, which a few years ago focused the attention of politicians, media and public opinion, as well as the parliamentary inquiry commission. The civil trial initiated by the group lawsuit of Amber Gold clients takes many years – from November 2017, the case was considered by the District Court in Warsaw.

To a group claim, in which, as responsible for omissions, were indicated, among others The Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz District Prosecutor's Office and the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk joined 246 entities submitting claims for damages. In fact, the group had even more people, because some of the claims reported marriages.

Ultimately, the District Court took into account the claims of 206 entities at the beginning of July 2022. At that time, SO awarded the Treasury for each of the people gathered in the group from 8,000. PLN to over PLN 1 million. At that time it was a total of over PLN 20 million. However, in the event of a possible consideration of the claim, interest is constantly calculated. Currently, the group's proxies estimate the entire amount in the range of PLN 25-30 million.

Initially, it was reported that the victims in this matter demanded a total of over PLN 26.5 million, i.e. the total amount of them invested in lost deposits. It was about people who concluded their contracts with Amber Gold in the period from January 2010 to August 2012, i.e. at a time when the prosecutor's office already knew from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority about the irregularities in Amber Gold.

The District Court did not share the group's position that the state of unlawfulness resulting in the responsibility of the Treasury, as early as January 2010, according to the court, he appeared about a year later as a result of incorrect actions of law enforcement agencies. “Criminal proceedings are guided by the appropriate rules, in no case there is such a situation that the notification of the notification itself causes, apart from extreme situations, immediately, the proceedings must be made, which is why the court does not assume that already in January 2010, the premises for compensation of the Treasury met” – said SO.

In turn, the proxies of the General Prosecutor's Office indicated that the possible omissions of the prosecutor's office were not in connection with the decisions of clients – incurring investment risk – about investing funds in Amber Gold.

Basically, these issues apply to the appeal. The General Prosecutor's Office argues that the prosecutor's office's actions in the case were aimed at determining criminal liability, and the signal for clients should be to enter the company on the KNF list. In turn, the group's proxies question the period of the Treasury's liability set by the Court of first instance.

The Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz District Prosecutor's Office has been dealt with by Amber Gold since the end of 2009. After the PFSA made a notification that this company was conducting banking activities without permission. At that time, the company came to the “black list” of the PFSA.

However, at the beginning of 2010, the District Prosecutor's Office refused to initiate an investigation. After the Court took into account the KNF complaint, in May 2010 an investigation was initiated, which was discontinued in August. Also, the decision to discontinue the PFSA filed a complaint, and the court included it in December 2010.

After returning the case to the Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz prosecutor's office, she was registered, commissioning the Municipal Police Headquarters in Gdańsk, the performance of specific procedural activities. In February 2011, a decision was made to consult an auditor. In connection with the extension of the study of this opinion – in May 2011, the prosecutor clerk suspended the proceedings in the case.

In June 2012, the proceedings regarding Amber Gold were taken over by the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk. This prosecutor's office raised the head of Amber Gold Marcin P. in August 2012.

At the end of May 2022, a final criminal judgment was passed before the Gdańsk Court of Appeal in relation to the creators of Amber Gold. Marcin P. was punished with 15 years in prison, and his wife Katarzyna P. 11.5 years in prison. In October 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed – as obviously unfounded – a cassation of defense from the conviction of Marcin P.

Amber Gold was a company that was to invest in gold and other ores. It has been operating since 2009, and tempted clients with a high investment interest – from 6 percent. up to even 16.5 percent per year – which significantly exceeded the interest rate on bank deposits. On August 13, 2012, the company announced liquidation, and thousands of customers did not pay the money or interest from them.

Marcin Jabłoński (PAP)

MJA/ SDD/