The Lubań Śląski Prosecutor’s Office has filed an indictment with the court in Bolesławiec against 48-year-old notary Grzegorz M. for allegedly misappropriating more than PLN 900,000 to the detriment of the State Treasury. For five years, the notary allegedly collected court fees related to entries in land and mortgage registers, but did not pay the money into the court’s cashier. The man was arrested; he faces up to 10 years in prison.
As Ewa Węglarowicz-Makowska, spokesperson for the Jelenia Góra District Prosecutor’s Office, told the Polish Press Agency, the crime allegedly took place from September 2001 to February 2006 in Bolesławiec, where the accused ran a notary’s office.
"When preparing notarial deeds, Grzegorz M. collected court fees from clients for applications to enter records in the land and mortgage register. He then submitted copies of the notarial deeds to the court, but did not pay the money collected from clients into the court’s cashier, although he was obliged to make these payments by the seventh day of the following month," Węglarowicz-Makowska said.
The crime was uncovered during an inspection conducted at the office. M. explained that he had indeed failed to transfer the fees to the court’s bank account, but had not intended to misappropriate the money.
(Polish Press Agency report)