Polish military prosecutors have opened a probe into whether former staff at a NATO Counterintelligence Centre of Excellence in Warsaw failed to properly protect sensitive data.

The military prosecutor in Warsaw is also trying to ascertain whether any of the officials overstepped their powers, radio station RMF FM reported.

"The initial stage of the investigation makes it impossible to provide detailed information on the findings of the prosecutor's office," a spokesman for the military prosecutor’s office in Warsaw, Colonel Ryszard Filipowicz, said.

The heads of the centre were relieved of their duties by Defence Ministry officials accompanied by military police who entered the NATO Counterintelligence Centre of Excellence, which is staffed by Poles and Slovaks, in the early hours of 18 December.

Security personnel were dismissed while Colonel Robert Bala, the new acting of head of the centre as appointed by Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz, was given the opportunity to “get acquainted” with the building.

Polish authorities said that the centre was not operated by NATO, stating it was an “international initiative” between the two countries.

The prosecutor’s office in Warsaw started the official investigation on Friday, it announced in a statement on its website today.

“I don't see any reason to make a huge fuss about the NATO Counterintelligence Centre of Excellence,” Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło said.

Despite assurances at the time that the changes at the centre were performed in consultation with Slovakia, at the end of last year the Slovak authorities sent a letter to Poland asking for an explanation. (rg/pk)

Source: PAP