Four academics arrested for fraud

Photo: sxc.hu

Professor Adam J. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) works at the Institute of Maths and Computer Science at the Wroclaw University of Technology.

According to the public prosecutor's office in Legnica, south west Poland, the sum concerned is as high as 1.8 million zloty (429,300 euro), and pertains to grants received between 2008 and 2013.

“The scheme was to obtain money from the university and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for research in the field of computer science,” said Liliana Lukasiewicz from the Prosecutor 's Office in Legnica, as cited by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

“And in reality, the work was not carried out,” she said.

Professor Adam J. has lectured at many international universities and among other posts, he is deputy chairman of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Informatics Committee.

All four suspects are being provisionally held for three months.

Professor Adam J. could serve up to fifteen years in prison if found guilty, while his colleagues could serve a maximum of ten years. (nh)