7 charged with corruption in Poland

Polish prosecutors have charged seven people, including government officials, with corruption in connection with licenses for shale gas exploitation and exploration.

Warsaw prosecution spokesman Mariusz Pieczek said Monday the indicted include three officials from the environment ministry, an employee of the Polish Geological Institute and three gas company representatives. They were handed a total of 11 charges of corruption.

According to a Polish news channel, the three government officials, of which one is a former director of the ministry’s licensing department, allegedly accepted bribes from gas companies to compose their tender bids for prospecting and exploitation licenses.

The prosecution said the bribes ranged from 3,000 to 13,000 euros (USD 4,000 to 17,000) and if found guilty the accused could face up to eight years in jail.

This comes as Poland is planning to invest 12.5 billion euros in exploration and development of its shale gas sector by 2020.

The country currently uses about 14 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, of which 60 percent is imported from Russia.