Not one zloty of the grants awarded in the NCBiR competition for two projects has been spent; The National Center for Research and Development should consider legal action, Republican Party leader Adam Bielan stressed. I will certainly consider such legal action against people who have offended me or my party, he added.
It concerns the case of two grants awarded as part of the competition of the National Center for Research and Development “Fast track – digital innovations”. The first grant, amounting to PLN 55 million, was awarded to a company with capital of PLN 5,000. PLN determined 10 days before the application deadline, by a person less than 30 years old; the company’s application received the lowest possible rating that allows financing. The second grant, which arouses suspicion among opposition deputies – amounting to PLN 123 million – was awarded to a Białystok company for a project on “undersea cybersecurity”, which had been making losses for the past two years.
READ ALSO: PiS spokesman straight: The NCBiR case is shocking. Abuse should be burned with a hot iron. ‘That’s why the parquet came in’
Opposition campaign
The leader of the Republican Party judged in TVP Info on Friday that “we are dealing with a gigantic campaign, in fact an election campaign, inspired by the opposition, in which some media are participating.”
No money, both in this one project for PLN 123 million and for the one for PLN 55 million, did not reach those interested; not a single zloty in these two projects came from the National Center for Research and Development
he said.
He added that very often “opposition MPs say on some commercial TV stations that these funds have flown away”.
On the other hand, Mr. (Dariusz) Joński and (Michał) Szczerba, at other press conferences, raise their chests to order and say that it was thanks to them that these funds did not flow away
observed Bielan.
He pointed out that the first press conference of KO delegates at the NCBiR took place on Feb. 3, after Radio Zet’s publications.
The first questions from Radio Zet were sent to the National Center for Research and Development on January 16, and on January 9 – a week before these questions were asked – the director of the National Center for Research and Development ordered an internal audit of applications those were considered just before Christmas. An internal audit was started immediately after the Christmas and New Year holidays,” says Bielan. “He received information that one of these largest projects was significantly over its limit; the limit for accelerated projects was EUR 20 million, ie about PLN 90 million, and the largest project was submitted for PLN 123 million
added the MEP.
Immediate action
He emphasized that when the audit revealed incorrect decisions by NCBiR employees, “immediate disciplinary action was taken.”
These people were released even before Mr. Joński and Szczerba knew about this case. As a result, a report was submitted to the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of committing a crime
said Bielan.
On the basis of this notification, submitted by the director of the National Center for Research and Development, the CBA and the public prosecutor intervened
– added.
When some media reported that money from the National Center for Research and Development had flowed to these companies, Bielan argued that the National Center for Research and Development should consider legal action.
I will certainly consider such legal action in the coming days in relation to people who have insulted me or the party I represent
he announced.
Bielan also expressed satisfaction with the ongoing audit commissioned by the Ministry of Funds.
I hope that this institution will also heal structurally as a result
he stressed.
When asked about the deputy minister of funds and regional policy, Jacek Żalek (a Republican Party activist), who is responsible for the NCBiR, Bielan stated:
For the avoidance of doubt, the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Grzegorz Puda, who is his superior, has relieved him from overseeing the NCBiR until the internal audit is completed.
Call from the Acting Director of the National Center for Research and Development
On February 13, the head of the MFiPR, Grzegorz Puda, fired the acting director of the NCBiR, Paweł Kuch, who had led the institution since August 2022, and appointed a new acting head of the center – Jacek Orzeł. Orzeł was previously director of the security policy office at MFiPR. On February 14, the deputy head of the MFiPR, Jacek Żalek, who directly supervises the work of the National Center for Research and Development, announced that an inspection at the National Center for Research and Development had been initiated by the minister’s decision of Development Funds and Regional Policy. The inspection is intended to examine the correctness of the “Fast Track – digital innovations” competition.
On February 15, the Ministry of Funds informed that the National Center for Research and Development had sent a notification to the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of committing an offense regarding possible irregularities in the selection of a project submitted under the ” Fast Track – Digital Innovations” procedure. co-funding competition. On February 22, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau began an inspection at the National Center for Research and Development.
The fact that almost PLN 55 million in subsidies from the “Fast Path” competition was received by a company with a capital of PLN 5,000. zlotys was announced by Radio Zet in early February. It was to be drafted by a less than 30-year-old man in a private apartment 10 days before the application deadline. The company’s request was to get the lowest possible score for financing, which was 10 out of 16 points.
In response, the National Research and Development Center informed that the applicant, whom the radio inquired about, has not received a grant and that the project is only on the list of “projects recommended for co-financing”, which does not mean that any monies are paid out.
The company in question is not a beneficiary, but only an applicant with whom no co-financing agreement has been signed, and only such an agreement can form the basis for the payment of any funds
– was subsequently emphasized in the statement from the National Center for Research and Development.
The Center then explained that before the project co-financing contract is signed, the application itself is subject to additional, detailed verification by financial experts who examine not only the applicant’s ability to bear the costs, but also the potential risk of irregularities related to the material or financial implementation of the project, as well as the composition of the research team.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce