Warsaw appeals the closure of the "Polish" branch of the case of former Ukravtodor head Novak

Warsaw District Prosecutor Michal Mistygacz has filed an appeal against the district court's decision to close the so-called "Polish" branch of the case of the former head of Ukravtodor and former Polish Minister of Transport Slavomir Novak. About writes RMF FM.

on September 19, the court ruled to close the case at the stage of the organizational meeting (before the trial), noting the "obvious lack of grounds for prosecution".

The prosecutor believes that this method of decision-making raises serious legal doubts, since the organizational meeting should only serve to determine the timing of court hearings and the procedure for questioning witnesses, and not to close the case on the merits.

the "Polish" branch of the case concerns Novak's accusations of corruption in 2011-2013, which were based on the testimony of one witness, a Gdansk businessman Jacek P., who was considered a friend of the politician.

Novak was charged with bribery for helping to obtain lucrative positions and contracts in state-owned companies.

Prosecutor Mystyhach emphasized that the appeal does not call into question the assessment of evidence, but is necessary to verify the correctness of the court's procedural decisions.

The appeal will now be considered by the Court of Appeal, which will decide whether the closure of the case was lawful.

Sławomir Nowak, who was Minister of Transport of Poland in 2011-2013 in the government of Donald Tuskhe was the head of Ukravtodor since 2016. In Ukraine, he also faced a number of corruption charges, including receiving bribes for facilitating public procurement and road repairs.

• In September 2019, the National Agency for Combating Corruption (NACC) found violations in the declaration Novak. on September 24 of the same year, he filed resigned.
• July 20, 2020 Novak detained in Poland on suspicion of corruption and participation in an organized criminal group. The next day, Novak handed over ukrainian suspicion.
• In the fall of 2023, it became known that the Polish the court divided the case of Slavomir Novak into two separate trials. The former head of Ukravtodor will be tried twice in Poland: separately for the Polish episodes and separately for the Ukrainian ones.