The Lower Silesian Customs and Tax Office in Wrocław has notified prosecutors of suspected false statements in PZPN’s VAT returns. The case concerns invoices from Publicon Sport worth over PLN 40.6 million; the federation says it is cooperating with authorities and has supplied documentation.
The head of the office’s notification is dated 9 October and on Wednesday, 21 October, reached the Szczecin division of the National Prosecutor’s Office (PK) for organized crime and corruption. The information was provided by PK spokesperson prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, as quoted by Wirtualna Polska, which first revealed the case.
What the tax office alleges
According to the spokesperson, the notification concerns a „suspected false statement” in VAT-7 returns that PZPN filed with the First Mazovian Tax Office in Warsaw. The federation allegedly used Publicon Sport invoices that „do not reflect real business transactions”. In the office’s assessment, this led to a loss of VAT revenue.
The total amount due is PLN 40,690,239, of which VAT is reportedly about PLN 7 million. The office cites Article 56 §1 of the Fiscal Penal Code (so-called tax fraud) and „other” provisions. The prosecutor’s office did not specify the period covered by the invoices.
The spokesperson noted that the notification explicitly names, among others, the president of Publicon Sport, but the number of people who may be responsible for the described acts has not been established. This means no charges have been brought at this stage, and the assessment of the notification rests with the prosecutor’s office.
One proceeding, a CBA thread
The notification went to the same division that ordered the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) to carry out activities at PZPN’s headquarters on 14 October. Officers then secured documentation of the cooperation with Publicon. According to WP and TVN24, a separate investigation by the Warsaw-Ochota prosecutor’s office into mismanagement in the Publicon contract, opened on 24 August, has also been joined to the Szczecin proceeding. It is examining whether the federation suffered damage of no less than PLN 4 million. The tax thread and the mismanagement thread are therefore handled by the same prosecutor.
The Publicon contract
Publicon Sport has been brokering sponsorship deals for PZPN since 2022, and the parties signed the contract on 9 February 2023. According to terms disclosed by TVN24, it provided for a monthly flat fee of PLN 150,000, a 13% commission on sponsorship agreements and 25% on licensing rights, with a guaranteed minimum of over PLN 4.4 million per year. As WP reports citing TVN24, the federation paid Publicon PLN 12.1 million in 2024. PZPN announced in January that it would not extend the contract, which expires on 31 July 2027.
Reaction from PZPN and Publicon
On Wednesday evening, PZPN issued a statement saying it is cooperating with the competent state authorities in verifying settlements relating to sponsors. The federation said it provided the authorities with „comprehensive documentation” which, in its view, confirms the actual performance of services for the federation and the conformity of settlements with the contracts. WP and Interia quoted the statement.
Publicon Sport also published a letter in which it „firmly rejects” allegations questioning the real nature of its services, as described by the Meczyki.pl portal.
What it means
For now this is a notification from the tax office, not charges or court findings. Prosecutors must assess whether the invoices were in fact inaccurate and who is responsible. For fans and sponsors, it matters that the case directly concerns the settlements of a federation that manages money from national team sponsorship deals. No deadline for a prosecutorial decision, such as opening a separate thread or presenting charges, has been given.
