Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek, once a sports star, now has creditors on his hands, and his affairs are being investigated by the prosecutor’s office.
In 1992, at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, 24-year-old Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek became a double gold medalist in the modern pentathlon.
Handsome, smiling, a bit shy and little-known at the time, the athlete quickly gained popularity. He visited schools and appeared on television.
Unexpectedly, however, he abandoned his sports career and took up business. It was the second half of the 90s when the athlete came to Masuria.
Galleon in Giżycko
Skrzypaszek decided to build an amphitheater in Giżycko, where concerts were to be organized. The building, called the Galleon, quickly became the showpiece of Giżycko.
– Arek had this trait back then, maybe he still has it, that he was terribly credible. He knew how to convince people. I was convinced that he was the man I needed for this type of activity – says entrepreneur Mirosław Muła.
Concerts at the Galleon were even broadcast by public television. The events brought in a lot of money.
– Almost 5 thousand people were sitting at tables, and on the stage, in the stern, artists were performing. We went there with a whole series of Polish number one stars. Everyone performed, from Maryla Rodowicz to ONA, and finally Budka Suflera, who recorded “Takie tango” at that time – recalls Mirosław Muła.
It soon came to light that Skrzypaszek had not repaid a loan taken out against the security of a hotel belonging to the Yellow company, managed by the businessman.
Before Mula knew it, the bailiff had auctioned off the hotel.
– We lost all our outlays and investments on the plot, we lost the property, which was partly built with our money. At that time, it was a loss of 2.5-3 million dollars – calculates Mirosław Muła.
Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek aimed to build a network of resorts
After the Galeon affair was revealed, Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek publicly admitted that he had debts – almost one million zlotys – but that he still intended to remain in business.
After that he disappeared from public life for a few years. Years later he started with a new idea.
– We met through mutual friends. It was a meeting with a bit of alcohol. Arek was already looking for deer for his investment, a pseudo-investment – says Dariusz Kondys.
Skrzypaszek intended to build a network of luxury resorts intended for wealthy clients.
– The place to which guests were invited was to include a hospital. And this hospital was to provide specialist services for hotel guests – explains Tomasz Bejm. He adds: – I helped Arek prepare a concept of what this project was to be, document it, arrange it in a financial model, a vision, documents that could be the basis for talks with investors. I believed in it.
Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek’s plan assumed the construction of resorts in three places in Poland: in Osieck near Warsaw, in Arłamów in the Bieszczady Mountains and in Nowy Targ in Podhale.
The construction costs were estimated at 860 million euros. From the sale of apartments alone, investors were to earn over one billion euros by the end of 2025.
Investment in Osieck near Warsaw
The first construction started in Osieck. But it stopped due to lack of money, and the bank financing it referred the case to the bailiff. However, this did not stop Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek from saying that his project is still developing.
He took potential investors – or lenders – on board a plane to show them the areas of planned resorts from a bird’s eye view.
– Today we already know that it is not his plane. But at first glance, an athlete who ends his career and deals with real estate trading or investments and today flies a plane, drives a Jaguar and dresses well, all this made up a very coherent and coherent story – says Tomasz Bejm.
– We flew to see the 100 hectares he was bragging about. He said he needed 500 thousand zlotys quickly to get a loan. From what I remember, Arabs were supposed to invest there, some big money. I think I lent him 200 thousand zlotys. He said he could finish the investment for 300 million, and the Arabs were waiting and giving 900. It was almost 8 years ago, so it was also different money – says Dariusz Kondys.
When Skrzypaszek borrowed 200 thousand from the man, he already had debts of several million zlotys. Despite this, he was looking for other potential investors.
– At first, he came with a vision of an investment to be implemented. He told me that he was in the process of arranging financing. The business, as it were, was based on me being the general contractor for the construction of the housing estate. About 150 thousand square meters of development space were to be built. It was an investment estimated at over a billion zlotys at the time. Plus, he offered me a 20 percent share in the entire undertaking – says our interlocutor.
– At first he seemed very credible. I had never dealt with any master. Later on, it turned out that Mr. Skrzypaszek had financial problems. I lent Mr. Skrzypaszek half a million. Later it turned out that Mr. Skrzypaszek had nothing to live on, I transferred 10, 20, sometimes 30 thousand zlotys to his company account. In addition, I gave him a BMW 7 series car, which he drove for a year.
Attorney Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło also believed in the vision of creating exclusive resorts. Together with Tomasz Bejm, she tried to help the Olympian reactivate the construction of the resort near Osieck.
When the lawyer and manager began checking the documents, the financial problems of Skrzypaszek and his companies came to light.
– The documents we obtained show that the money obtained for investment purposes exceeded several dozen million złoty. If you went to the town of Osieck, to the investment site, you would see that there is actually a meadow, a few trees and several buildings in a raw state. But these buildings were built with a loan obtained from one of the banks. By one of his companies – says attorney Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło.
– It’s hard to say what Osieck was supposed to be. At first, there was supposed to be a stud farm, some village, then a resort. Then there was supposed to be the Cursed Soldiers Museum. Then there was supposed to be a sports and rehabilitation center, including plans for Robert Lewandowski to have his children’s school there. These ideas were very fanciful – assesses attorney Turczynowicz-Kieryłło.
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Reporter: Jakub Stachowiak
