Polish Prosecutors Charge Seven for Alleged Shale Licencing Bribes

Polish prosecutors have indicted four government employees and three businessmen for corruption and taking bribes ranging from €3,000 to €13,000 in connection with shale gas licences.

“These seven people, three officials form the environment ministry, an employee of the Polish Geological Institute and three gas company representatives, were handed a total of 11 charges of active and passive corruption,” Warsaw prosecution spokesperson Mariusz Pieczek told AFP.

The prosecutors did not name any of the seven people involved. Some news channels report that one of the government officials is a former director of the ministry’s licensing department.

According to a recent report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Poland has the second largest shale gas reserves after Russia.

Prospects of shale gas developments in Poland darkened this year. Marathon Oil and Talisman Energy scaled back their investments, following Exxon Mobil’s decision to pull out of the country.