A Polish businessman who appears to have fled the country after meeting a record 3 million zloty (800,000 euro) bail has been detained in Austria.

Jozef J., (name withheld under Polish law), was arrested in 2007 for allegedly extorting 300 million zloty from a national energy firm.

Although arriving to court in a Mercedes, he claimed that he had no money, and his vast bail sum was paid by an unnamed 80 year-old American lady. The accused was forbidden from leaving the country.

Following his initial release, Jozef J. founded the Luxembourg Human Rights Foundation, and then made a bid for the European Parliament.

However, it quickly emerged that the candidate had offered 100 zl (25 euro) to every voter who agreed to back him, and the campaign failed to take off.

Precise information about the point of his arrest has not been relayed to the media as of yet. However, it has emerged that the man was carrying an authentic passport of the Republic of Guinea.

The suspect has claimed to be an official consul of the African Republic, thus enjoying diplomatic immunity, an argument he communicated to the Polish court in Katowice earlier this year.

However, Poland’s Foreign Ministry claims that Jozef J. is not fully accredited as a diplomat, and expressed that the conditions for the granting of his passport are markedly dubious. The Katowice court is due to make a final ruling in the case this May. (nh/jb)

Source: PAP/Gazeta Wyborcza