“I cannot imagine that a normal mayor who oversees this kind of mechanism regarding public transport would not be aware of the details of such an important transaction,” said PiS MEP Maciej Wąsik in an interview with the portal wPolityce.pl. The former deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration does not rule out that in this case there may have been political pressure on the heads of important ministries in Tusk’s government to Trzaskowski to help.
On July 21, 2023, Cryogas was placed on the sanctions list by decision of the Minister of the Interior and Administration Mariusz Kamiński (PiS). To be removed from this list, the company had to be acquired by a company from Poland, founded by the current president and vice president of the company who worked for the Russians. for a total of PLN 3. To remove from the list min. However, Kamiński did not agree, and neither did the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw. The new government of Donald Tusk had a different view on this. On December 12, 2024, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, Czesław Mroczek, with the consent of Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, issued a decree removing Cryogas M&T Poland.
In my opinion, the main issue concerns the price of this transaction. Why is a company with such huge assets – according to media information it can reach PLN 100 million – sold to the management for PLN 3? This has the characteristics of a sham transaction because its costs are much higher than the price paid. I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind wouldn’t wonder why this happened. Now that the company has been removed from the sanctions list, the services must investigate whether the entire transaction is not a sham
– says Maciej Wąsik, PiS MEP.
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Did they want to help Trzaskowski?
The former minister in the Prime Minister’s Chancellery wonders whether political pressure was exerted on the heads of key ministries of Tusk’s government in this case.
Maybe this all happened because there was some political pressure. After all, the company supplied gas to Warsaw’s buses, perhaps the intention was to prevent any disruptions in the supply of this fuel. Perhaps there was some pressure on the Ministry of the Interior and Administration and the Ministry of Finance in this regard. Or perhaps the Sanctions Act has been violated, which could result in a fine of up to PLN 20 million. These types of questions will have to be answered at some point, and sooner rather than later
– says the former deputy head of the CBA.
In the second half of 2023, Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe in Warsaw paid PLN 61.1 million for the bus depot at ul. Płochocińska. MZA bought it from transport company ITS Michalczewski. However, it turned out that the depot housed a gas installation belonging to Cryogas M&T Poland – a company that is completely dependent on Russia.
It is still questionable whether the gas supplied to Warsaw’s buses is 100 percent. Russian. I can’t imagine that a normal city manager overseeing these types of mechanisms involving public transportation would be unaware of the details of such an important transaction. The city company would also buy back significant real estate related to critical infrastructure to Cryogas’ successor. I have serious doubts as to whether President Trzaskowski’s oversight was appropriate as he now declares that he knew nothing about the matter
– says the former deputy head of the CBA.
According to the findings of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, Cryogas was active in Poland in January 2023, almost a year after the invasion of Ukraine, and as much as 58 percent of the gas used came from Russia.
There may have been an attempt to help Rafał Trzaskowski by removing a company from the sanctions list that should still be on the list. In my opinion, this trade could have been obvious. It is better to lose everything than to sell for PLN 3. Perhaps this company was sold because it still sold Russian gas. All documents and invoices about this are somewhere. The Ministry of Finance has a system in which you can check this
– summarizes the Law and Justice politician.
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Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.