2024-04-23 14:40 update: 2024-04-24, 14:10
Photo PAP/Wojtek Jargiło
An audit of the Defence Ministry under the previous government has revealed that some of the private bodyguards of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the then ruling party, were given jobs as military policemen despite spending all their time as privately employed bodyguards, a deputy defence minister has said.
Cezary Tomczyk was talking to the news channel TVN24 on Tuesday about the audit of the Defence Ministry (MoD) under the Law and Justice (PiS) government.
He said that during the inspection they came across "a unique, drastic and scandalous" case.
"It turned out that a group of Kaczynski's bodyguards, while, de facto, performing duties for him as a private security company... were also as a full-time employees of the Military Police. In double jobs, while not doing anything for the Military Police," Tomczyk said.
"We are talking about several bodyguards who were employed in the Military Police, even though at that time they were Kaczynski's bodyguards and de facto protected him 24 hours a day. This is scandalous...the Military Police authorities knew about it," he continued.
"What was the need? Did they want to earn more? I don't know. The most important thing is that these jobs were de facto fictitious," he added.
Tomczyk also said that information on this would be presented to the Parliamentary National Defence Committee on Wednesday.
The audit was launched by the new government, which took office on December 13 last year.
Under the previous defence minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, a number of multi-billion contracts for military equipment were signed or announced, including: tanks, barrel and rocket artillery, light aircraft, combat helicopters and anti-aircraft equipment. (PAP)
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