WARSAW (Reuters) – Four people have been arrested for defrauding the Polish Football Association (PZPN) out of at least 1 million zlotys ($217,732.10), Poland’s Central Anti-corruption Bureau said on Tuesday.
Among those arrested are PZPN board member Jakub T. and former PZPN secretary general Maciej S., as well as Iwona T. and Gabriela M., who were shareholders and chief executives of a company cooperating with the association.
Under Polish law the surnames of people charged with crimes cannot be published.
Private broadcaster RMF FM reported that Jakub T. and Maciej S. were arrested at an airport, where they were due to fly to the World Cup in Qatar.
Corruption in football has come under increased scrutiny worldwide after U.S. Department of Justice allegations that bribes were paid to secure votes when the hosting rights for the tournament were awarded 12 years ago.
In a statement posted on twitter PZPN said that it took reports of the arrests with “due seriousness”.
“The federation does not know the details of the case and will not comment on it until it receives information,” it said. “At the same time, PZPN declares its full readiness to cooperate with competent services in order to clarify the matter as soon as possible.”
($1 = 4.5928 zlotys)
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
