On Tuesday, a district court in the southern city of Katowice approved a request from prosecutors to arrest and detain Paweł Szopa, the man behind the Red is Bad, which produces leisure wear.
The move follows the issuing of an arrest warrant by the National Prosecutor’s Office for Szopa, who is believed to have left the country. Private radio station RMF FM reported, citing the police, that the search for him has not yet begun, as officers have not yet received the documents from the court.
Szopa is suspected of being involved in a scandal surrounding RARS’s activities during the COVID pandemic in Poland.
RARS, a government agency, is tasked with ensuring that Poland has emergency supplies of fuel, medicines, and food.
Under the previous government, there were reported irregularities in the management of public funds that led to Szopa becoming a supplier of a wide range of products, from protective equipment to power generators.
He allegedly received government orders issued without a tender process, and in just three years, RARS may have transferred as much as half a billion złotys (€116,944,000) to the accounts of several of his companies.
Michał Kuczmierowski, the former head of RARS, was arrested in London on Monday and faces extradition on charges of participating in an organized criminal group and contract rigging.
When investigators wanted to charge Szopa and Kuczmierowski, it turned out that both had left the country. As a result, prosecutors requested temporary arrest so that a warrant could be issued.
In the case of Szopa, the court’s initial decision was negative, which prompted the National Prosecutor’s Office to file an appeal. Ultimately, the court accepted the appeal and approved the temporary arrest of the creator of the Red is Bad brand for 90 days.
