Poland’s Intelligence Agency recommended arms dealer Andrzej Izdebski for government contracts despite knowing he was a fraudster.
The Respirator Scandal
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Poland’s Ministry of Health purchased 1,241 ventilators from E&K, a company belonging to arms dealer Andrzej Izdebski. The ministry paid a large advance (exceeding 154 million złoty) before any devices were delivered. Ultimately, only 200 ventilators reached Poland, which later turned out to have no certifications and did not meet European standards.
Due to missed delivery deadlines, the ministry terminated the contract. The company was fined 10 percent of the value of the unfulfilled order and 0.2 percent of the delivery value for each day of delay. According to the Ministry of Health, the company owed millions of euros in unpaid advances and contractual penalties. The Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Andrzej Izdebski, who fled to Albania and died there on June 20, 2022.
Intelligence Agency’s Knowledge
Former Deputy Minister of Health Janusz Cieszyński stated that the Izdebski company was recommended by Poland’s Intelligence Agency. Journalists from Onet established that “what’s more shocking, the Intelligence Agency recommended him, even though it perfectly well knew that he was a fraudster and had cheated both our American and European allies.”
The arms dealer was a long-time collaborator with both civilian and military intelligence services. While the Intelligence Agency was collaborating with him, he was simultaneously likely also a collaborator with military special services – first the Military Information Services (WSI), and then the Military Intelligence Service (SWW).
Izdebski’s Activities
Andrzej Izdebski was operationally used by the civilian intelligence service for tasks related to arms trade and acquisition of military technologies. As part of these activities, he stole military technologies and made arms purchases in the territory of the former USSR, particularly Russia. According to Onet, “Izdebski also acquired technologies that the Polish defense industry could not use, and in these situations the Polish civilian intelligence service was merely an intermediary between Izdebski and the CIA.”
According to journalists’ findings, the man obtained for the U.S., among other things, exact plans, technical drawings and diagrams of one of the most advanced Russian mobile air defense systems and a radar system. Americans paid him for these services, with the Intelligence Agency serving as the intermediary in the payments.
Changes in Cooperation
About 10 years ago, the Intelligence Agency was supposed to end cooperation with Andrzej Izdebski. However, this changed after Piotr Krawczyk took the position of head of the Intelligence Agency in 2016 – that is, during the PiS government. Krawczyk sent into retirement officers who knew of Izdebski’s frauds, or in one case to a Far Eastern diplomatic mission.
It was revealed that Izdebski took an advance (nearly half a million dollars) for arms delivery, including grenade launchers, and did not settle the accounts despite repeated requests for the return of the money. A similar situation occurred with one of the allied European intelligence agencies.
Investigation Outcome
After Andrzej Izdebski’s death, the recovery of funds was taken over by the National Prosecutor’s Office, which seized 418 ventilators remaining in his warehouses. Despite this, it was not possible to recover more than 20 million złoty.
The Prosecutor’s Office discontinued the investigation into the fraud. According to Watchdog Polska on February 2, it concluded that the president of E&K did not act with the intention of deceiving the Ministry of Health. Investigators indicated that the non-fulfillment of the contract was the result of market risk and pandemic chaos, not planned fraud. The case was classified as civil law.