10. Activities of the WSI Officers in the Military Technical Academy

The activities of the WSI officers often took on the properties of economic crime at a large scale as a result of which the State Treasury lost millions of zlotys. Very often the funds belonging to the economic entities or institutions connected to the military were transferred out or embezzled via companies, foundations or other institutions established at the initiative of the WSI officers or closely linked to them.
An example of this type of activities of the WSI offers were their business activities focused around the Military Technical Academy (WAT) in 1996 - 2000. The trace of these criminal activities of the WSI officers was found in mid-1999, during a financial audit conducted in WAT by the Fiscal Control Office. The audit concerned the performance of the academy’s budget assumptions. Fabricated financial documents were revealed then, evidencing criminal practices in WAT. Following the findings of the Fiscal Control Office, in July 1999, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, with the participation of the Economic Interest Guard Directorate of UOP, instigated the investigation in the course of which the existence of crime mechanism in WAT was confirmed; the amount of PLN 381,962,568 was illegally transferred out of the academy through a number of business entities. According to the findings, that money was taken out the WAT’s budget by "Centrum Usługowo-Produkcyjne WAT" (CUP WAT), established in 1996, which was to handle the commercial and marketing service of WAT.
The practice consisted of CUP WAT signing long-term contracts for the delivery of goods or provisions of services to WAT with various companies. A large number of those companies had close ties to Fundacja "Pro Civili". The mechanism of those contracts consisted of fictional appointment of WAT as the recipient of goods or the party ordering the services, for which WAT was obligated to pay considerable amounts of money to the contractors.
An important role in this practice was played by Fundacja "Pro Civili", but also related companies "Olbart", "Kiumar", "Glicor", "Sicura" and others. Fundacja "Pro Civili" was established on July 5, 1994, with the capital of 300 thousand old Polish zlotys. It was supposed to protect the employees and officers of government and local government services as well as public and trade union activists, but also assist people who suffered a loss or health impairment when defending security and legal order of the Republic of Poland. The main founders were Anton Wolfgang Kasco and Patryk Manfred Holletschek (creator of the first financial pyramid in Poland: "Global System"). The President of the Foundation Board was Krzysztof Werlich, and the Director General – Elżbieta Polaszczyk. The Foundation Council composed of: chairman Piotr Polaszczyk (a WSI officer till August 1995), Beata Werlich, Krzysztof Kostrzewski, gen. Stanisław Świtalski and Marek Olifierczuk (collaborator run by Piotr Polaszczyk). One of the employees of the Foundation was an officer of the 3rd Directorate WSI, Marek Wolny. In 1994, the Foundation Council also included Janusz Maksymiuk and Tomasz Lis.
At least several dozens of various service and trade undertakings were revealed between CUP WAT and Fundacja "Pro Civili" and the above-mentioned companies. A large number of transactions with the participation of WAT and Fundacja "Pro Civili" consisted of business operations of sham nature. Their only purpose was to con millions of zlotys in VAT refunds, obtain bank loans and sell the banks the debt claims under leasing contracts. On the part of WAT, the signatory in those transactions was CUP WAT. An example of actions undertaken by "Pro Civili" was the purchase of a document security system "Axis" for WAT (that system was to be used to protect documents against forging and to enable quick, faultless verification of reliability of a document, but the findings made during the investigation questioned the existence of that program).
It was also determined that Fundacja "Pro Civili", closely tied to CUP WAT, and the companies associated with the Foundation were also a "money laundry" for funds which might have also derived from illegal operations of crime groups. Such thesis is confirmed by contracts, revealed by the prosecution, which CUP WAT made with Fundacja "Pro Civili" and other companies in 1996 – 2000 on behalf of WAT. One of them was a contract for leasing of a motor yacht by Korporacja Adaer S.A. for WAT. The first contract was made for the amount of app. 36 million PLN, the second – 20 million PLN. The yacht all the time remained the property of a Cyprus-based company Parsley Co. Ltd. Leasing fees were paid to the account of the Bank of Cyprus. The purpose of those contracts was to transfer the money abroad.
The purpose of another contract made between WAT and Korporacja Adar was to consist in joint financing of purchase and sale of real property at 4 Konduktorska Street in Warsaw. The value of the object of transaction was defined as 4.5 million PLN and WAT’s share was 2.5 million PLN. Valuation of the real property was 1.2 million PLN. WAT’s share greatly exceeded the value of real property. These activities were aimed at "cheap and quick" loan to the Adar Company, extended by WAT representatives. The President of Management Board of Korporacja ADAR was a foreign citizen who used three different sets of personal data (citizen of Lithuania Valerijus Baskowas, Igor Kapylov from Belarus and Konstantinos Pelivanidis, representative of Parsley Company Limited from Cyprus).
Many undertakings with WAT’s participation were doomed to generate losses from the start and yet the academy participated in the costs. For example: in 1997, WAT signed a contract with "Pol-Bot" concerning the exploitation of sand and gravel deposits, a transaction, which brought WAT a 750 thousand PLN loss. Losses were also generated by the establishment of "Zakład Usług Reklamowych WAT" and its location in Łódź (in 1999, Col. Janusz Łada, without due authorizations, signed a lease contract for real property at 89 Piotrkowska Street in Łódź on behalf of ZUR WAT; the contract was made with the company 'Secesja 89 Piotrkowska Centrum Biurowo-Apartamentowe", owned by Krzysztof A.).
Cooperation between WAT and Szkoła Wyższa Warszawska (SzWW), formally organized by the Foundation for Development of Education and Technology, created at the WAT’s incentive and financed – theoretically – from public funds, made it possible for WAT to create an Office for Cooperation with Non-Public University in 2000. The costs of that Office were financed from the subsidy the WAT received from MOD for educational purposes. In 2003, SzWW owed WAT a debt for the lease of premises to the amount of nearly 1.5 million PLN.
Another source of WAT’s financial problems was the signing, at the consent of the then Commander of WAT, Gen. A. Ameljańczyk, another lease contract of a "Hunting House” with Mariusz Krawczyk, even though the academy authorities knew that Krawczyk failed to perform the previous contract with WAT. The conclusion of another contract with Krawczyk was influenced by the personal recommendation from Col. Romuald Miernik (WSI officer, Deputy Commander of WAT for Economic and Organizational Affairs). The result of the contract with Krawczyk was that the "Hunting House" was completely devastated in 18 months and the construction alterations made to it caused as a consequence that the construction supervision authorities could not accept the building. Krawczyk’s debts in the lease rent (at least 100 thousand zlotys) and the costs related to the re-adaptation of the building owned by WAT added up to a considerable financial loss (at least several hundred thousand zlotys) in a seemingly small undertaking.
In spite of a bad financial situation, the WAT command did not take any remedies. It has shown no initiative for the WAT to rid itself of the shares in those commercial companies the operations of which were unprofitable or generated loss. Not much attention was paid to the fact that the object of business of those companies was often completely divergent from the tasks of a military university (insurance services, oil trade, hotel industry…). The people in the WAT command often grossly exceeded their authorizations when signing contracts. Usually, the contracts signed by them brought the academy financial loss of a great extent.
The disastrous financial situation of the WAT became even worse when the function of the WAT Commander was held by Maj. Gen. Andrzej Ameljańczyk. It was Gen. Ameljańczyk who assented to signing loan contract with private investors on behalf of WAT or giving loans to private investors, invest in business undertakings which were to bring loss from the start. The financial policy of WAT pursued during his term of office was grossly violating the provisions, which govern the financial management of budget entities. WAT transactions did not take any account the partners’ reliability. Neither the WAT command nor CUP WAT, which represented the academy, checked the credibility of their contractors or the past of the people who represented them in contacts with WAT. It was not infrequent that the people who were CUP WAT shareholders simultaneously represented the interest of other companies with which the academy made contracts. For example, contracts were made and transactions conducted with:
- Roman Puderecki – owner of "Budimex" (co-shareholder of CUP WAT) against who court proceedings were pending for financial embezzlement,
- Karol Gilski – former Security Police (SB) officer and shareholder of "Sicura" (co-shareholder of CUP WAT),
- Leszek Grot,
- Krzysztof Osuch and Francesco Belloni – representatives of "Korporacja Bemowo",
- Andrzej Góralczyk – plenipotentiary of "Pol-Bot", sentenced in the past for participation in criminal association, theft, fraud, conning and forgery of documents.
Leading roles in the described practices were played by WSI officers. They were usually the spiritus movens of those transactions. Some of them, when they were still active WSI officers, were responsible in the past for the so-called counter-intelligence guard of WAT, just to become employees of that academy later – quite often in prominent positions. If they did not work in WAT, then they usually represented business entities, which were the academy’s partners in commercial transactions.
One of such people was Cpt. (Reserve) Piotr Polaszczyk, who was a WSI officer till 1995, in charge of the WAT target guard and for this reason he had extensive knowledge about the way the WAT functioned, he also knew people from WAT who used to be his HUMINT sources in the past. Since 1996, he has been the Chairman of Council in Fundacja "Pro Civili" and then the originator of many transactions with WAT participation (through CUP WAT). Col. (Reserve)Marek Wolny, former officer of the 3rd Directorate WSI, became an employee of "Pro Civili'. Very important role was played by Janusz Łada, Deputy Commander of WAT for Economic and Organizational Affairs, who personally approved many undertakings with WAT’s participation and Col. Roman Miernik - a WSI officer, later also a Deputy Commander of WAT for Economic and Organizational Affairs.
Those officers did not act alone. They had knew each other for years, they trusted each other, they jointly planned or initiated criminal undertakings where the WAT budget was the base. And even the fact that they represented the opposite parties in those undertakings and were obligated to act to the benefit of those parties, did not hinder them in carrying out the planned undertakings. Such WSI officers as Deputy Commander of WAT Col. J. Łada and Deputy Commander of WAT Col. R. Miernik. It was them who took up various ideas to do "business together" with Fundacja "Pro Civili" where the brain was Cpt. (Reserve) P. Polaszczyk. It was a specific type of collusion of the WSI officers for criminal business based on WAT. And it was not only an interim collusion, but as the practices developed, an organized criminal group, steered by WSI officers. The fact that the WSI name was accepted in those circles is evidenced also by this minor thing that P. Werlich from Fundacja “Pro Civili” claimed to be a WSI officer, though he never was, but the WSI name was to make him more credible to the Foundation’s contractors.
When in mid-1999 the WAT financial policy came into the focus of the Fiscal Control Office, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw and the Warsaw Unit of the WSI Counter-Intelligence as well as the WAT command made a number of organizational and personal changes in the academy with the primary aim to attempt to cover the traces that could lead law enforcement to pick up the trail of criminal practices with the participation of WAT command. The initiator of those changes was Deputy Commander Col. Łada. CUP WAT was dissolved and CUP WAT S.A. was established in its place with the formal founders in persons of: Col. J. Łada, K. Gilski and R. Puderski, while the plenipotentiary was Col. Krzysztof Bernat. It was probably at that time that many documents related to the transactions conducted with WAT’s participation were destroyed.
At the end of 2000, the Military Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw brought charges inter alia against: Deputy Commander of WAT for General Affairs Brig Gen. Aleksander Boronowski, Deputy Commander of WAT for Economic and Organizational Affairs Col. (Reserve) Janusz Łada, the Head of Fire Training Department of WAT Col. Tomasz Kwiecień, legal counselors of WAT: Marek Gniewaszewski and Janusz Wojciechowski, director of the Publishing House of WAT Wojciech Pogonowski, Bursar of WAT Col. (Reserve) Tadeusz Kudłaczek and Col. (Reserve) Andrzej Spychała.
The separate investigations conducted by the civil and military prosecution included also the people associated with Fundacja "Pro Civili" – Cpt. P. Polaszczyk and Col. (Reserve) M. Wolny.
As a result of criminal practices, exemplified by the discussed cases, WAT lost at least 381,962,568 zlotys. Most sums lost by WAT were transferred outside the Polish banking system. The existence of criminal practices in WAT was confirmed within three independent procedures:
- the audit by the Fiscal Control Office,
- the proceedings conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office and Military Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw,
- problem case run by WSI, code-named "K", and operational clearance work case, code-named "KA".
In all control and investigation bases, the participation of the WSI officers or people who used to be WSI officers was confirmed. Those people either used to provide counter-intelligence guard for WAT or as former soldiers occupied various functions in WAT command. The participation of the WSI soldiers in the criminal practices was not even. It cannot be ruled out that the activities of some of them were directed by the WSI chiefs. Such situation could have existed in spite of the fact that the WSI conducted problem case "K" and operational clearance work case "K", the purpose of which was to investigate and then investigate the criminal practices in WAT. We know that the Deputy Commander of WAT Lt. Col. R. Miernik was sent to WAT in 2002 to set the situation in order and he was in regular contact with the Chief of the 3rd Directorate Col. Kazimierz Mochol as well as the chiefs of Special Operations Office in that Directorate: Col. Eugeniusz Lendzion and Col. Józef Łangowski. This fact could point to the direct supervision of the WSI over the activities of many of its former soldiers who developed business activities with WAT’s participation. It cannot be ruled out that the huge budget of WAT, resulting from the needs to conduct research work, could have been an interesting target for the WSI and WSI, with the engagement of various business entities, could have wanted to transfer it out of WAT and deposit safely outside the Polish fiscal area.
From the counter-intelligence’s point of view, special attention should be paid to the disclosed fact that many foreigners, in particular citizens of former USSR countries, participated in the criminal practices, which posed a great threat to the complete transparency of WAT as a military university. The situation was inasmuch alarming as the contracts concluded with WAT often gave the contractors a possible access to the information which was a state and business secret. This applied in particular to the information related to the financing of the WAT’s research and implementation works for the Polish Armed Forces. Some transactions with WAT’s participation were investigated by the public prosecution in Warsaw, as a result of which charges were brought against several dozen people.
In the light of the cited facts, the conduct of the following people meets the disposition contained in Article 70a.1 and 70a.2.2 of the Act on Provisions Implementing the Act on Military Counter-Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Service and the Act on the service of the officers of Military Counter-Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Service, dated June 9, 2006: Col. Marek Wolny, Col. Roman Miernik, Col. Janusz Łada, Col. Kazimierz Mochol, Col. Eugeniusz Lendzion, Cpt Piotr Polaszczyk.
The activities of: Brig Gen. Aleksander Bortonowski, Maj. Gen. Andrzej Ameljańczyk, Anton Wolfgang Kasco, Patryk Manfred Holletschek, Krzysztof Werlich, Beata Werelich, Krzysztof Kostrzewski, Gen. Stanisław Świtalski, Col. Tomasz Kwiecień, Col. Józef Łangowski, Col. Krzysztof Bernat, Marek Olifierczuk and Mariusz Krawczyk meets the disposition of Article 70a.2.1 of the aforecited Act.
The WSI Chiefs in the described period were: Brig.Gen. Konstanty Malejczyk and Comm Adm. Kazimierz Głowacki.
Article 5.1 of the Act on the Office of the Minister of National Defense, dated December 14, 1995, contained the regulation stating that the Military Information Services are subordinated directly to that Minister. That regulation was specified in a greater detail in § 1.16 of the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers on the Detailed Scope of Competencies of the Minister of National Defense, dated July 9, 1996. This regulation imposed on the Minister of National Defense the obligation to exercise supervision over the activities of the Military Information Services, including in particular their operational actions and investigations. Pursuant to the Military Information Services Act of July 9, 2003, the supervision over the activities of those services rested with the Minister of National Defense who appointed and dismissed the WSI Chief. By virtue of Article 9.1 of this Act, the WSI Chief was subordinated to the Minister of Defense directly. The Ministers of National Defense in the described period were: Stanisław Dobrzański, Janusz Onyszkiewicz and Bronisław Komorowski.