Hewlett-Packard 'admits corruption in Poland'

Minister Sienkiewicz. Photo: Polish Radio

“This is a breakthrough moment for Poland,” Sienkiewicz said on Wednesday, after several former government employees have been charged over the scandal.

“It's a moment in which a big international company admits that it acted corruptly in Poland," he said.

Sienkiewicz praised the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), which cooperated with the FBI in the investigation, saying that the probe should be regarded as “a great triumph” for the Polish bureau.

The CBA's investigation concerning allegations of corruption in state tenders for IT equipment began in 2011.

Since then, 38 people have been charged, including a former deputy minister of the interior, a former deputy head of Poland's Central Statistical Office (GUS), officials at the foreign ministry and businessmen.

It is alleged that bribes were paid to Polish officials by Hewlett-Packard in order to win IT equipment tenders.

Sienkiewicz claimed on Wednesday that the CBA's probe “shifts Poland from Eastern Europe to the West” in terms of fighting against corruption. (nh)