Two ex-Polish National Foundation members detained in abuse investigation
Officers from the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) have detained two prominent former members of the Polish National Foundation (PFN), an organisation established by the previous government to promote Poland's image abroad.
The socially conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, created the PFN in November 2016. The foundation, funded by 17 state-controlled enterprises, later came under media scrutiny over alleged financial irregularities and the suspected misuse of public funds.
According to PAP, one of those detained is Maciej Swirski, a former head of the PFN and a close ally of PiS, now Poland's main opposition party. During the PiS administration, Swirski also served as chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.
"This morning, acting on the orders of the prosecutor at the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Rzeszow, officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested two former members of the Polish National Foundation: 64-year-old Maciej S. and 63-year-old Cezary J.," Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesman for the minister-coordinator of special services, wrote on X on Tuesday.
"The investigation concerns alleged abuse of power and dereliction of duty by members of the Polish National Foundation's management board in 2017 in connection with the financing of the 'Fair Courts' media campaign, which allegedly caused the foundation losses of at least PLN 8.4 million (EUR 1.94 million)," Dobrzynski added.
PiS began its term with attacks on judges, calling them "a special caste" and vowing to reform the Polish judicial system. However, the changes drew criticism from the judges themselves as well as from several European courts and institutions, including the European Commission, which ultimately launched the rule-of-law procedure against Poland.
Dobrzynski said the suspects would be taken to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Rzeszow, south-eastern Poland, for questioning.
Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister-coordinator of special services, wrote on X: "The use of the foundation's funds for party purposes must be accounted for!" (PAP)
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