Communicated on 7 March 2019

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 79509/17
Tomasz Zbigniew RUSSJAN
against Poland
lodged on 9 November 2017

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant, Mr Tomasz Zbigniew Russjan, is a Polish national who was born in 1970 and is detained in Gdańsk Detention Centre. He is represented before the Court by Mr K. Szocik, a lawyer practising in Gdańsk.

A. The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant, may be summarised as follows.

In 2012 the prosecution service began an investigation into allegations of fraud by a company called The Treasury Polish Financial Corporation (Polska Korporacja Finansowa “Skarbiec”), which was on an unspecified date renamed “Cash Loan” (Pożyczka Gotówkowa). The company was founded by the applicant in 2004 and offered loans on condition of payment of fees. It operated until 2014. In 2017 it was declared bankrupt.

On 26 January 2015 the applicant was arrested by the police.

On 27 January 2015 the Gdańsk-Południe District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) ordered that the applicant be detained on remand for three months in view of the reasonable suspicion that he had committed large-scale fraud (X Kp 84/15, VI Ds 65/12). The court cited the likelihood that the applicant might try to interfere with the proper course of the proceedings because of the likelihood of a severe sentence being imposed on him.

Following an appeal by the applicant, on 16 February 2015 the Gdańsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) upheld that decision.

The applicant’s detention on remand was extended on 23 April 2015 by the Gdańsk Regional Court, which, aside from the same reasons as given in the decision of 27 January 2015, pointed out that the applicant’s accomplice had taken steps to leave the country. It was therefore possible that the applicant also planned to abscond. Moreover, aid in gathering evidence was requested from the authorities in other countries, and an analysis of the bank accounts was being prepared.

Following an appeal by the applicant, on 13 May 2015 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) eliminated one of the legal bases of the detention (concerning the fear of his absconding) and upheld the remainder of the challenged decision.

The Gdańsk Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention on 21 July 2015.

On 9 September 2015 the Gdańsk Court of Appeal changed the end date of the