Poland’s Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek has informed the parliament speaker that charges have been brought against three key politicians associated with the previous government led by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.
They are former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak and the former head of the Ministry of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski.
According to the prosecutor’s office, they are all alleged to have committed violations of the law in connection with their official functions, the Prosecutor General’s office announced on Thursday.
According to law, the prosecutor is obliged to notify the parliament speaker that criminal proceedings are being conducted against a member of the Council of Ministers.
The forwarded document may become the basis for assessing whether the described actions exhaust the elements of a constitutional tort. If it is considered that there has been a violation of the constitution or laws, the Sejm may decide to refer the case to the State Tribunal.
A constitutional tort is a violation of constitutional provisions by a person exercising public authority that is not a criminal offence but is a clear violation of the Constitution or a law. Such cases are heard by a State Tribunal.
Persons in the highest state positions may be brought before the State Tribunal, including the president, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and members of the Government.
Charges for former members of the PiS government
According to the prosecutor’s office, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki allegedly exceeded his powers and failed to fulfil his duties during the organisation of the missed postal elections in 2020. The investigation relates to decisions made during the pandemic period, including the alleged illegal sharing of the personal data of millions of citizens with local government units.
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National DefenceMariusz Blaszczak is also facing charges. He is accused of exceeding his powers and disclosing state secrets. As minister, he is alleged to have allowed the removal of the confidentiality clause from parts of defence plans related to troop movements in the event of an attack from the east. The indictment in this case has already gone to court and Blaszczak has the status of a defendant.
Financial charges have been filed against Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski. The former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has been accused of mismanagement, failure to fulfil his duties and exceeding his powers in connection with the provision of bank and credit guarantees to frozen food producer Eskimos SA. The prosecutor’s office claims that Ardanowski, knowing of the company’s poor financial condition, “led, contrary to the applicable regulations, to the granting of a bank guarantee to the company in the total amount of PLN 100 million (around €23 million) and the granting of a credit guarantee by theNationalAgricultural Support Centre in the amount of PLN 20 million (€4 million).”
Proceedings against all three former ministers started after their immunities were lifted by the Sejm earlier this year and in the case of Morawiecki, after he voluntarily gave up his parliamentary protection.
Ardanowski’s comments to Euronews
Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski commented on the case in an interview with Euronews, calling the prosecution’s actions political.
“Mr Zurek is threatening virtually all politicians on the right that he will put them before the State Tribunal. He recently deigned to say that he is also considering putting President Karol Nawrocki before the State Tribunal. For me, it is in a way an honour to be mentioned with people like Prime Minister Morawiecki or the President. I am approaching this with complete calm,” he said.
Ardanowski stressed that the legal case is supposed to divert attention from the difficult situation the current government is facing.
“It seems to me that bringing up these issues is to divert attention from the actual problems of the current government. There is evidently fire there, if this kind of action on the part of the Attorney General is being taken. I don’t know what this is supposed to distract attention from. Perhaps from the Prime Minister’s statements towards Germany or the collapse of the health service? It is not for me to decide,” he stated.
The former minister said that decisions regarding support for producers were the constitutional duty of a minister and were intended to prevent the bankruptcy of thousands of farms.
“I expect from the prosecutors that if they have any allegations against me, let them take the case to court. I will present witnesses. The witnesses will be the entire Council of Ministers at the time with Prime Minister Morawiecki. This decision to give a loan guarantee, which I am accused of, was with the approval of the Attorney General’s Office. It was a decision to guarantee not any state aid, but a commercial guarantee related to the agreement to take over the register set, register set and matched commissions,” he said.
He also reiterated that the State Treasury had not suffered a loss and that the whole affair was “an affair concocted by the CBA (Central Anticorruption Bureau) leadership.”
The former minister argued that for years he has been demanding that the case be taken to court, where he could present documents and witnesses, including the then Council of Ministers.
“I demand from the prosecutors, and I have signalled this many times, that the case be referred to court so that I can present witnesses, documents before an independent court. But the prosecutors don’t flinch from referring the case to court. On the other hand, Mr Zurek, who is flailing around and does not really know what to do next, wants more politicians associated with the Polish right wing to appear before the State Tribunal. For me, this is embarrassing,” Ardanowski told Euronews.
“An affair once concocted by the CBA leadership to shut my mouth in inverted commas, contrived to divert attention from the important problems of the current government,” he added.
Ardanowski said he intends to defend himself before the Polish courts.
“I would be strongly surprised, in spite of even this political war that is going on here in the Sejm, that my actions would be considered as actions harmful to the state. This would mean that it is not worth it to be involved in activities in the state administration, to take actions that are supposed to serve Poland, to save our economy, to save certain social groups, because everything is just blunt politics of the kind that Mr Żurek is implementing at the moment.”