Housing scandal in the State Forests. Indictment against former directors

The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Kraków sent an indictment to the District Court in Gdańsk against two former directors of the State Forests and a forester. She accused them of acting to the detriment of the public interest when trying to sell apartments in Gdynia – said PR spokesman Janusz Kowalski on Tuesday.

The indictment concerns Bartłomiej O., former director of the Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Gdańsk, Józef K., former general director of the State Forests, and forester Jan B.

According to prosecutor Kowalski, the Regional Prosecutor's Office supervised an investigation into the abuse of powers and failure to fulfill duties by public officials employed at the State Forests State Farm, which concerned the sale of residential premises located in Gdynia at ul. Morska 200A.

According to the spokesman, on Tuesday, an indictment was sent to the District Court in Gdańsk against Bartłomiej O., Jan B. and Józef K., who, as public officials employed in the structures of the State Forests, due to their behavior they acted to the detriment of the public interest. These activities included taking steps to sell the property located in Gdynia at ul. Morska 200A.

– This property was owned by the State Treasury and was managed by the State Forests State Farm – Regional Directorate of State Forests in Gdańsk. The actions taken by the defendants led to a direct threat of property damage in the amount of not less than PLN 2,302,200, Kowalski said.

For the alleged acts, the defendants face imprisonment from three months to 10 years.

The representative of the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Krakow recalled that the preparatory proceedings were carried out in cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Department of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gdańsk.

A notification of suspicion of committing a crime by three people who recently held managerial positions in the State Forests, including Józef K., was sent in January 2024 by the Director General of the State Forests, Witold Koss. The notification was the result of an audit regarding the sale of three residential premises belonging to the State Forests in an attractive location in Gdynia. As reported by the General Directorate of State Forests, one of the apartments was to be purchased by concluding a preliminary agreement by the former director of the regional directorate in Gdańsk. (PAP)

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