Piotr Wawrzyk, a former deputy foreign minister in Poland's previous right-wing government, was detained on Wednesday by the country's central anti-corruption bureau.
The arrest is linked to charges surrounding the alleged sale of visas and work permits to migrants for substantial sums of money, a scandal that surfaced last summer and eroded public trust in the Law and Justice party's tough-on-immigration stance, as per to Fox News.
Cash-for-Visas Scandal Reverberates
WARSAW, POLAND - JANUARY 11: Thousands of people hold the Polish national flag as they take part in a protest organized by the conservative right wing Law and Justice Party against the public media reforms implemented by Donald Tusk's Pro EU coalition on January 11, 2024 in Warsaw, Poland. After Poland's new culture minister dismissed the heads of the state television channel TVP and Polish Radio, following media reforms instituted by new PM Donald Tusk to "depoliticize public media", MPs from the Law and Justice (PiS) that lost power last year reacted by staging a sit-in at the state TV headquarters.
The cash-for-visas scandal, which unfolded in September, dealt a blow to the Law and Justice party, ultimately contributing to its defeat in the October parliamentary elections. The investigation into the matter began earlier in the year, leading to the recent arrest of Wawrzyk.
This development is poised to widen the rift between Prime Minister Tusk and opposition politicians from the former Law and Justice administration, who accuse Tusk of orchestrating a political witch-hunt against their party. Tusk, however, asserts that pursuing senior PiS officials suspected of various crimes is essential to steering Poland towards a more liberal, pro-EU position.
Following the revelation of the visa scandal last year, the PiS government terminated Wawrzyk and initiated an investigation into an alleged network involving foreign ministry officials selling Polish visas for cash through consulates worldwide.
Although the investigation did not yield immediate results, it allowed Tusk to challenge the PiS government's claims of defending Poland against illegal immigration, a pivotal issue during the elections. Wawrzyk, for his part, denies any wrongdoing.
Tusk's efforts to expose abuses by PiS loyalists and dismiss them face resistance from President Andrzej Duda, a PiS nominee. Duda recently escalated a dispute with Tusk's government over the national prosecutor's fate, seeking the constitutional court's ruling on the matter, according to Financial Times.
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President Duda's Power Struggle
In a separate case, Duda is demanding the release of two convicted PiS lawmakers on hunger strike, further testing his presidential powers. The situation has become complex, with conflicting claims about the legality of their imprisonment under a 2015 pardon granted by Duda.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Duda disclosed that a court had ordered force-feeding for one of the hunger-striking MPs, former interior minister Mariusz Kaminski. This adds another layer to the ongoing power struggle between Tusk and Duda.
Wawrzyk's arrest aligns with Tusk's broader agenda to revisit cases overlooked by the previous government and initiate fresh probes into past wrongdoings. Tusk, who assumed office in December, emphasizes the need to address the "grey and black areas of activity" and financial improprieties that allegedly prevailed in Poland until recently.
The arrest also coincides with the pro-European government's commitment to holding individuals accountable for alleged wrongdoing during the previous administration. The Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) stated that the charges against Wawrzyk include promises of financial benefits in exchange for intermediation in obtaining residence permits and exerting unlawful influence on the permit issuance process.
In total, nine individuals, including Wawrzyk, face charges in connection with the cash-for-visas scandal. Prosecutors cited by the state-run news agency PAP indicated that the accused could potentially face up to ten years in prison, with Wawrzyk vehemently denying the charges leveled against him, Rauters reported.
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