Corruption, CBA, Agency for Development and Modernization of Agriculture - these words are related to the Tuesday detention of the former head, and now the main specialist, from the Wielkopolska branch of ARMA. The officers also detained the owner of one of the agricultural advisory companies. It is a total of PLN 5,4 million.
The allegations
The detained persons were accused of extorting subsidies from the Rural Development Program in two financial perspectives - for 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. ARMA employees were to help farmers obtain subsidies for investment activities. It would not be surprising if it were not for the fact that they accepted financial benefits on this account. The CBA officers determined that at least 73 people were received in this way. zloty.
This way, farmers could get access to two projects: "Modernization of farms" and "Bonus for young farmers". However, in order to increase the chances of a successful application for participation, applicants had to undergo appropriate training. The owner of a private agricultural advisory company came to the rescue, issuing the necessary certificates without actually completing such a course.
Other irregularities in ARMA
In return for the accepted financial benefits, ARMA employees helped farmers in the entire process of submitting the necessary documentation. However, their activities went far beyond their powers, resulting from their official service. When they noticed errors in the documentation, they went so far as to eliminate them and even replaced the necessary documents. Thus, they used their position so that all "paid" applications received a positive opinion.
Artificial overstatement of the plot of one of the companies that applied for funding was also detected. As stated, this applies to the group of fruit and vegetable producers from the province. Greater Poland. During the inspection in August 2011, the property was valued at 500. PLN, while the applicants in the application documentation showed that its value was PLN 9,5 million. As a result, they obtained funding for its purchase in the amount of PLN 7,5 million. Thus, they exposed to serious losses and improper disposal of the property of the ARMA.
Possible consequences
ARMA employees are threatened with from 3 to 10 years in prison, depending on the further procedure in this case. If it is proven that in return for the financial benefit they have intentionally failed to inspect the applicants' companies, then they will be charged with deliberate failure to perform their duties, which was detrimental to ARMA. In this case, its employees face a higher sentence.
What about farmers?
It is worth mentioning that farmers who give bribes may also be accused. However, as it results from the content of the CBA notification, they can avoid criminal liability. It is enough for them to refer to the no criminal record clause pursuant to Art. 229 par. 6 of the Criminal Code. In this case, however, they must submit a notification to the prosecutor's office or the CBA.
Photos downloaded from: cba.gov.pl
