A district court in Szczecin, north-western Poland, has upheld the continued application of preventative measures against four people accused of defrauding the Polish Football Association (PZPN) of PLN 1 million (EUR 210,000).

The court decided that the evidence collected so far in the investigation indicated there was a high probability that the four suspects (Maciej S., the former PZPN secretary general, Jakub T., a current member of the PZPN board, his wife Iwona T and the former CEO of a company called OSTTAIR) had committed the crime they have been accused of.

The four were detained in November by Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) agents, and were later charged with defrauding the PZPN by means of a fictitious contract under which OSTTAIR was to receive a commission on a sponsorship deal.

„The commission was to be paid for the services regarding a sponsorship contract between the PZPN and one of the sponsors. In fact, OSTTAIR was controlled by one of the suspects, namely Jakub T.,” the prosecution said.

According to prosecutors, in return for the „fictitious” sponsorship contracts, the PZPN unwittingly gave the firm large commissions, which, in turn, helped fund the lifestyles of the suspects.

(PAP) at/md/ej