Disclosed in 2004, the scandal began with the arrest, on 7 February 2002, by the Urząd Ochrony Państwa (UOP, Office for State Protection) of Andrzej Modrzejewski, the CEO of PKN Orlen.
The UOP replaced the communist-era Służba Bezpieczeństwa (SB), I Departament People's Republic of Poland Ministry of Internal Affairs - intelligence, II Departament People's Republic of Poland Ministry of Internal Affairs - counter-intelligence, whose responsibilities had additionally included the suppression of opposition to the government prior to 1989.