The Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) raided the Ministry of Finance last Friday to investigate the tax accounts of Refineria Trzebinia, a refinery which is located in the south of Poland and owned by oil giant Orlen. The CBA suspects excise tax on the production of the oil-derived products was illegally lowered for the refinery, possibly causing a loss of around zł.100 million for the State Treasury.

An upper-level official in the Finance Ministry is rumored to have taken about zł.1 million in bribes in return for lowering the excise tax, RMF radio reported.

CBA officers seized documentation related to the issue. Temistokles Brodowski, a spokesperson for the CBA, told journalists last Friday that the raid had been ordered by the state prosecutor in Kraków, who is conducting a broader investigation on excise-tax irregularities in the fuel sector.

The investigation is in its final stage, the prosecutor’s office told IAR, Polish Radio’s press agency, adding that there were 44 suspects in the case.

The Finance Ministry confirmed that the CBA had been to its offices, but refused to comment further on the issue.