Backlash Over Vodka Sale
The Polish Treasury has been accused of lacking transparency in its sell-off of Polmos Bialystok. Sobieski Dystrybucja, which lost out on the majority stake in the distiller to Central European Distribution Corp yesterday (5 July), has charged the Treasury with handling the sale incorrectly.
"We believe that the process of selling the 61% stake in Polmos Bialystok is not transparent," Sobieski’s vice president, Waldemar Rudnik told PAP.
"On 1 July, we filed a notification with the prosecutor’s office on suspicion of committing a crime by Treasury officials," he added.
Deputy Treasury Minister Dariusz Witkowski has rebutted the claims, however. "All the procedures have been met," he said. "The Treasury Minister approached the whole of the process with great scrupulousness."
Sobieski has called for exclusive bargaining rights due to shortcomings in the procedure.
CEDC said yesterday that it has agreed terms and conditions with the trade unions at the state-owned distiller. The move coincided with an announcement from the Treasury Ministry that a share purchase agreement should be signed with CEDC next week. Sobieski saw its exclusive negotiations collapse last month, after failing to come to an agreement with workers at Bialystok.