PM accepts financial watchdog head's resignation
PM Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Marek Chrzanowski, head of the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), over corruption allegations.
Chrzanowski, who is accused of the attempted bribery of a bank shareholder, announced his resignation earlier on Tuesday.
Morawiecki's office head Michał Dworczyk said on radio that Chrzanowski's resignation was "the only sensible move in the situation."
"This was the only sensible solution in the situation. The KNF head should have an impeccable reputation," Dworczyk said. Later Dworczyk informed that a planned Wednesday morning meeting between Chrzanowski and the prime minister will not take place, as in the present situation it was "pointless."
He added that the PM was currently in talks on the matter with the justice minister and special service heads.
Commenting on his resignation to PAP, Chrzanowski said that his move was motivated by "a sense of responsibility for the efficient supervision of the financial market and the need to clear the matter in detail for the good of the state."
Also on Tuesday, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro announced that he had ordained inquiries into the matter. Ziobro said that the current allegations against Chrzanowski involved abuse of power.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Gazeta Wyborcza national daily wrote that Chrzanowski made an approximately PLN 40 million (EUR 9.3 million) proposal to Getin Noble Bank controlling shareholder Leszek Czarnecki last March. Chrzanowski was reportedly taped suggesting that the banker should hire a specific lawyer whose wages would be tied to the bank's financial standing in return for the KNF and central bank's (NBP) "favourable" approach to the restructuring of Czarnecki's banks, the daily wrote. According to the newspaper, the tapes were delivered to prosecutors by Czarnecki himself.
In response to the report, Morawiecki demanded immediate explanations from Chrzanowski.
In a statement issued by the KNF, the regulator stressed that Gazeta Wyborcza's report on the bribe attempt was untrue. The KNF emphasised that such a proposal had never been made during any of the numerous Czarnecki-Chrzanowski meetings.
However, the KNF did admit that Chrzanowski had suggested to Czarnecki hiring a specific lawyer, but claims he never made any specific suggestions regarding the lawyer's wages or promises of privileged treatment of Czarnecki's banks by supervisory bodies. (PAP)
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