The first suspect was accused of fraud damaging a Polish grain trading company by selling over 100 tons of wheat while concealing that the shipment had previously been imported from Ukraine as 'technical' grain.
The second suspect was accused of falsifying customs documents so that imported Ukrainian grain would still enter the agro-food market.
The third suspect was also accused of customs fraud in 190 customs declarations regarding the import of corn and rapeseed. This involved a deal worth several million.
The issue of trading Ukrainian 'technical' grain is very sensitive not only in Polish agriculture but also in politics and the vast countryside. The term 'technical' grain was initially used by customs and the Polish government to allow the arrival and transit of Ukrainian grain that would be transported to other countries without duties or controls.
In practice, much of it later ended up on Poland’s commodity market, preventing Polish farmers from selling their grain or forcing them to sell it at dumping prices. This also causes clashes with EU rules on import tariffs and quotas, on which a decision must be made again on September 15.
Currently, as part of the investigation conducted by the team of prosecutors, dozens of procedures against suspect traders have been combined. So far, 283 house searches have been carried out, and documentation has been secured. The case is under the supervision of the Economic Crime Department of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The radical Polish farmers’ union Agrounia demands the publication of the names of Polish grain traders who have earned large sums at the expense of Polish farmers due to the European relaxation for Ukrainian agriculture. The Polish ruling PiS party has so far refused, claiming it would violate subsidy rules. However, this is contradicted by (the Polish!) EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.