Prosecutors press charges against Polish president's former spokesman
Polish prosecutors have brought charges against the former spokesman for President Andrzej Duda, Blazej S, in connection with an investigation into irregularities at a private university in Warsaw.
On Thursday night, Blazej S. and his wife, Sandra S. (full names withheld under Polish law) were charged with corruption and fraud over their alleged role in irregularities at Collegium Humanum, a private university established in 2018 in Warsaw.
Earlier on that day, Blazej S. was detained by Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) officers in connection with their investigation into the malfunctioning of the university.
Blazej S. has been a member of the former governing party, the socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), since 2004. In 2018, Duda appointed him secretary of state at his office and his spokesman.
Blazej S. ended his career in both posts in 2021 and was appointed a social advisor to the president. He was also an advisor to the management board of Poland's biggest fuel and energy firm PKN Orlen and a deputy CEO of the country's gas operator Gaz-System.
For years, Collegium Humanum offered accelerated MBA courses, securing its graduates access to seats at supervisory boards of state-owned companies. However, it later turned out that Collegium Humanum had no power to issue MBA diplomas nor did the foreign universities it cooperated with.
Many of the institution's graduates went on to become high-profile officials in Poland, including several politicians, personnel from government agencies, and members of military and security services.
Charges have already been brought against Karol Karski, a European parliamentarian from PiS, and Jacek Sutryk, the mayor of the southwestern city of Wroclaw.
Collegium Humanum has since been renamed the University of Business and Applied Sciences Varsovia. (PAP)
jd/jch/wpb/mf
