Polish justice minister seeks criminal charges against his predecessor
Poland's Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek has requested that the legal immunity of his predecessor under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, Zbigniew Ziobro, be lifted so he can face charges in a 'Justice Fund' abuse probe.
On Tuesday morning, the spokesperson for the prosecutor general’s office announced that Zurek had submitted a motion to the Sejm, lower house of parliament, to this effect.
In the motion, Zurek also asked the Sejm's consent to detain and arrest Ziobro over the case of misusing the Justice Fund earmarked to support victims of crime, Anna Adamiak said.
A special investigative team of the National Prosecutor's Office, established in February 2024, is investigating the rigging of competitions for multi-million dollar grants from the Justice Fund. It is conducting a multi-threaded and progressive investigation into abuses of power and neglect of duties by the justice minister and ministry officials responsible for the funds in previous years.
Adamiak told a Tuesday press conference that the prosecutor leading the investigation "established, based on evidence" that Ziobro, while serving as Minister of Justice, "founded and led an organised crime group" that embezzled money from the Justice Fund.
The crimes committed, she said, also included false certification.
Adamiak added that the crime group founded by Ziobro consisted of Ministry of Justice officials and individuals holding public positions within the ministry, as well as individuals associated with entities that benefited from Justice Fund funds.
"These individuals committed crimes against property, against documents, and caused damage to property. It was determined that as part of these 26 acts ... over PLN 150 million (EUR 35.4 million) from the Justice Fund was misappropriated," she added.
Adamiak said that "extensive evidence" collected in the case allowed the prosecutor to establish a sufficiently justified suspicion that Ziobro had committed 26 crimes, and these acts are closely related to his position as Minister of Justice. (PAP)
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