Polish anti-corruption agents detain mayor and deputy mayor of Nowy Sącz

Mayor Ludomir Handzel and Deputy Mayor Artur Bochenek of Nowy Sącz, a city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south-east of Kraków in southern Poland, were detained by Poland’s anti-corruption agency on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation.

Poland's anti corruption agency has detained the mayor and the deputy mayor of Nowy Sącz, a city in southern Poland, as part of an ongoing inverstigation, officials have confirmed.

Photo courtesy of the Central Anti-Curruption Bureau (CBA)

According to local media reports, the operation was carried out at the city hall and is linked to a wider corruption probe.

The Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) has not released further details, but Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the minister coordinating Poland’s security services, confirmed to Polish Radio that “CBA agents have been operating in Nowy Sącz since the morning and are carrying out procedural activities.”

Broadcaster Radio Kraków reported that the detentions are linked to a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigation into alleged abuse of power by municipal officials and suspected financial losses to the public amounting to around €600,000 (about $650,000).

Earlier this week, four other officials from city-run institutions were also detained as part of the same probe.

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Source: IAR/Radio Kraków/CBA