Jacek Kapica, a former Polish deputy minister of finance and head of the Customs Service, has taken up a new role as a customs and tax liaison at the Polish Embassy in London, despite facing legal scrutiny over his past actions.
Former Deputy Minister Becomes Liaison for KAS in London
Jacek Kapica, who served as deputy minister of finance and head of Poland’s Customs Service under the PO-PSL government from 2008 to 2015, has recently returned to work with the Krajowa Administracja Skarbową (National Tax Administration, KAS). Following the 2015 parliamentary elections, Kapica briefly worked at Warsaw’s Customs Office before joining an international law firm. According to reports in Rzeczpospolita, he applied for an external recruitment process, won a competition in Warsaw, and was moved to the KAS headquarters, where he now holds the position of senior expert in the Department of International Cooperation. In a LinkedIn post, Kapica confirmed he has relocated to London to serve as a liaison officer at the Polish Embassy, responsible for customs and tax cooperation and representing the head of the National Tax Administration.
Jacek Kapica Facing Court
Kapica was detained by Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBA) in March 2018 in connection with the so-called gambling scandal, though the court later ruled the detention unjustified. In July 2018, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok submitted an indictment, alleging that Kapica ignored mandatory technical audit reports required for registering gambling machines, leading to the legalization of devices that should not have been approved. Prosecutors also claimed he failed to conduct checks on maximum bets and payouts for slot machines, accepting their registration based on falsified opinions. This, they argued, allowed owners to profit unlawfully while depriving the state of tax revenue. Initially, the court dismissed the case, but after the prosecution appealed, the trial resumed and has been ongoing for years.
There Is No Single Piece of Evidence
In his 2018 statement, Kapica denied any wrongdoing, asserting he fulfilled his duties “with full commitment” and “without any personal financial gain.” He emphasized there was no evidence in the documentation to suggest he neglected his responsibilities. Kapica also claimed that many individuals highlighted his efforts to address market irregularities, regardless of their source. He criticized the prosecution for basing their case on actions from 2008–2009, which became evident as outdated knowledge in 2010, and stated he feels wronged by state institutions, which targeted him similarly to how previous criminals attempted to remove him from his position.
Source: Gazeta, https://www.tokfm.pl/Tokfm/7, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/praca, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/ambasada, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/centralne-biuro-antykorupcyjne, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/polityka/7
