Polish prosecutors have charged 33 people with smuggling cigarettes and bribing customs officials in a case involving nearly 500 million zloty in lost state revenue.
Indictment Details
The National Prosecutor’s Office submitted an indictment to the District Court in Siedlce against 33 individuals for their involvement in an organized criminal group engaged in tax offenses and bribing customs officials.
The case, numbered 1001-107.Ds.57.2025, was investigated by the Białystok-based Podlaski Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Smuggling Operations
The group operated from November 2018 to October 2021, smuggling excise goods, particularly cigarettes without Polish excise tax stamps, from Belarus to Poland through border crossings in Bobrowniki and Terespol.
The smuggling operation utilized both road and rail transport to bring at least 29,441,178 packs of cigarettes into Poland, resulting in lost state revenue of 497,955,419 zł.
Bribery and Financial Impact
Members of the group are accused of bribing customs officials with 99,500 zł and 898,435 EUR (equivalent to 4,067,412 zł). The indictment does not cover the customs officials themselves.
The lost revenue consists of customs duties (11,173,294 zł), value-added tax (96,740,900 zł), and excise tax (390,041,225 zł).
Legal Proceedings
Property seizures totaling 10,922,687.73 zł have been applied for future penalties and compensation measures.
The proceedings involved extensive evidence analysis, including financial documentation, customs data, and operational materials. The case will now be handled by the District Court in Siedlce.
