The warrant for Paweł Szopa is linked to an investigation into possible corruption that took place in a state agency during the rule of the previous Polish government.
"We hereby inform the public that on September 6, 2024, the Regional Court in Warsaw… issued the European Arrest Warrant against Pawel Szopa," the court said in a statement on Friday.
Szopa is accused of defrauding public money in collaboration with a former head of Poland’s Government Strategic Reserves Agency (RARS). The agency is responsible for ensuring the country has sufficient emergency supplies of key resources such as oil and food.
The entrepreneur rose to fame in Poland as the man behind the Red is Bad company, which produces clothes pitched mainly at youngsters, often carrying Polish patriotic imagery.
It is alleged that Szopa received millions of złoty in government contracts through illegal means, the Polish state news agency PAP reported, during the COVID pandemic.
According to PAP, Red is Bad benefited from close contacts with the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which was in power when the pandemic struck. These contacts, the agency added, allowed Szopa to bypass standard procedures to obtain funding.
It is also alleged he was assisted by the assistance of the former head of RARS, named by authorities only as Michał K. owing to reporting restrictions.
Michał K. was arrested in London earlier this week and faces extradition for his alleged role in the affair.
Lawyers representing Michał K., along with PiS officials, have suggested the charges against him and Szopa, which include being part of an organized criminal group, are politically motivated.
Both suspects could face further legal action in the coming months, pending extradition hearings and formal charges.
