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Detained Polish ex-deputy PM in hospital after fainting

16.10.2020 13:04
Polish former Deputy Prime Minister Roman Giertych was in hospital undergoing tests on Friday after he fainted following his detention by anti-corruption investigators, officials said.
Roman Giertych being taken to hospital by ambulance on Thursday.
Roman Giertych being taken to hospital by ambulance on Thursday. Photo: PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik

"We are waiting for the results of these tests, for a medical opinion, which will assess what procedural activities related to bringing charges… can be carried out at the moment," said Stanisław Żaryn, a spokesman for Poland’s security services chief.

Giertych was taken to hospital on Thursday afternoon after he fainted during a search of his villa in Józefów, on the outskirts of Warsaw.

Officials said that the former politician, who was detained along with 11 other people, is suspected of taking part in a scheme involving siphoning money out of a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and money laundering.

The company suffered losses of over PLN 90 million (over EUR 19m, USD 23m), Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) said.

Giertych, a high-profile lawyer, was a deputy prime minister and minister of education from 2006 to 2007 under a previous government.

He is the former leader of the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families, which was once an ally of Poland’s now-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. He later became a fierce critic of Law and Justice

(pk)

Source: PAP/IAR/Polish Radio