Officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) Delegation in Lublin detained a former deputy minister of foreign affairs in an investigation into paid protection regarding the speeding up of visa procedures. The investigation is supervised by the Lublin Branch of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin.

Officers of the CBA Delegation in Lublin conduct the investigation under the supervision of the Lublin Branch of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin. The preparatory proceedings concern submitting promises of financial benefits in exchange for intermediation in arranging matters related to obtaining residence permits in the territory of the Republic of Poland for foreigners, as well as illegal exertion of influence on the course of the procedure of issuing the said permits by persons performing public functions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The CBA informed that on 17 January 2024, based on a decision of the Public Prosecutor, officers of the CBA Delegation from Lublin apprehended a man on the territory of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. At the residence of the detained person, CBA conducted a search aimed at securing material evidence which could be of significance in the conducted preparatory proceedings.

The detainee was brought to the Lublin Branch of the National Public Prosecutor “s Office in Lublin, where he was charged under Article 231, par. 2, of the Criminal Code in connection with Article 266, par. 2, of the Criminal Code. The charges relate to the period from February 2022 to May 2023.

From the evidence gathered, it follows that the detained Piotr W., acting as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023, within the framework of his duties in charge of consular issues and supervising the tasks performed by the Consular Department, exceeded his powers by violating the procedures in force at the Ministry related to the registration and circulation of documents. In addition, the detainee was charged for making unwarranted interventions concerning the acceleration of visa procedures and for providing an unauthorised person with information covered by official secrecy.

Adrian Andrzejewski