Amber Gold pyramid scheme used airline to launder money: commission head

OLT Express – an airline subsidiary of Amber Gold, and which operated for just a few months in 2012 – was “probably used to launder a total of PLN 300 million [EUR 72 mln]”, said Małgorzata Wassermann, the head of a parliamentary committee probing the scheme.

Amber Gold had promised customers high returns on investments in gold, but the firm folded in August 2012.

According to criminal records, 19,000 customers were swindled out of a combined sum of PLN 851 million (EUR 200 million) at the time.

Wassermann told the PAP news agency that over recent months, the commission has been able to paint a picture of how Amber Gold conducted business before filing for bankruptcy in 2012.

OLT was constantly monitoring the financial stability of national carrier LOT, which was having serious financial trouble during that period.

“Everything seems to indicate that [OLT] was not interested in purchasing LOT because it was not willing to spend money,” Wassermann said, adding that OLT's intention was to “bring about LOT's bankruptcy and take over the market.”

European Council head Donald Tusk will next spring be questioned by the commission.

Tusk was the prime minister of Poland from 2007 until 2014, when he resigned to become president of the European Council, a key European Union leadership position. (rg)