Sławomir Nowak, a former minister in Donald Tusk’s government, was detained earlier this week by Poland’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) as part of a joint investigation with the Ukrainian authorities.
Nowak, a former member of Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party, faces charges of corruption, running an organised criminal group and money laundering. Yesterday, a court approved a request by prosecutors for him to remain in custody for three months while the case proceeds.
Now, reports have emerged that the evidence used to implicate Nowak was gathered using controversial Pegasus spyware. The opposition has expressed concern that it could have been used to gather information on PO’s presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, whose campaign was advised by Nowak.
Użyto systemu Pegasus jak pisze"Rzeczpospolita" https://t.co/609hVubobe
— Joanna Miziołek (@JMiziolek) July 22, 2020
On Monday Nowak, who served as transport minister in the PO-led government from 2011 to 2013, was detained and accused by Warsaw prosecutors of corruptly obtaining material benefits to the value of over 1.3 million zloty. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
The alleged corruption took place when Nowak, after leaving the Polish government, served as head of Ukraine’s state road agency, Ukrawtodor, from 2016 to 2019. He is accused of receiving money from firms that were awarded contracts by Ukrawtodor, which was funnelled through companies registered in Cyprus and Poland.
Ukrainian authorities says that Nowak “used his position to earn money for himself” by taking bribes and “stealing funds from international organisations”. Nowak left his position last year after an investigation had begun into whether he submitted false financial declarations.
In 2013, Nowak similarly stepped down from his post as transport minister after Polish prosecutors sought to charge him over irregularities in his asset declarations. He was later found guilty of submitting false statements by failing to declare ownership of a watch worth more than 10,000 zloty (€2,300).
This week, as well as Nowak, Polish authorities detained two others in relation to the Ukraine case: Dariusz Z., a former commander of Poland’s GROM special forces unit,and Jacek P., a businessman from Gdańsk (their surnames are hidden under Polish law, but Nowak has waived his right to anonymity).
A former transport minister, named as Słowomir N. under privacy laws, and a former commander of Poland's GROM special forces unit have been detained by the anti-corruption bureau on charges including participating in an organised criminal group https://t.co/O4Bbg8O0aD
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 20, 2020
A court ruled yesterday that both Nowak and Dariusz Z. will remain in custody for three months, while Jacek P. can be released on bail of half a million zloty. Leaving court, Nowak told reporters, “You know perfectly well what this situation is – it’s a set-up, that’s all,” reports Onet.
Nowak’s lawyers have claimed that they were not given sufficient time to prepare his defence, having had only 3.5 hours to get through 70 folders of case files, reports Onet.
In the latest twist, respected Polish daily Rzeczpospolita has reported that the “strong” evidence against Nowak was “based mainly on secure conversations on encrypted communicators, [accessed] thanks to the use of the Pegasus surveillance system”.
Pegasus is spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO. It can be installed on mobile devices to track communication without the user’s knowledge. The system can also be used to remotely operate the device’s microphone, camera and location mechanism.
NSO says that it sells the system to state authorities to help them combat crime and terrorism. But critics say it has been used by repressive governments – such as those in Saudi Arabia and UAE – to spy on opponents, human rights activists and journalists, including Jamal Khashoggi before his murder.
In 2019, after Canadian research organisation CitizenLab claimed that it had detected the spyware being used in Poland, the CBA denied purchasing any “system of mass invigilation”.
Later, an invoice uncovered by Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) indicated that the CBA may have purchased the system, along with training and testing, for 34 million zloty using a special justice ministry fund intended for helping victims of crime.
One expert, a former member of the parliamentary secret services committee, says that he believes the spyware is illegal under Polish law.
It has reportedly been used by authoritarian states, such as Saudi Arabia, to spy on opponents, journalists and NGOs https://t.co/h3qyGPildo
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 4, 2019
Today, the opposition has voiced concern that, while the charges concern Nowak’s work in Ukraine, which ended in September 2019, the investigation was prolonged by Poland’s CBA. This suggests that “the real intention” could have been to “surveil the Polish opposition”, said PO’s leader Borys Budka.
Budka added that the opposition will “demand complete and reliable information” on whether the case was “a pretext to surveil opposition politicians and illegally obtain information about Rafał Trzaskowski’s election campaign,” reports Onet.
Trzaskowski was narrowly defeated in a run-off election on 12 July against incumbent president Andrzej Duda, whose candidacy was supported by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Main image credit: Fot. Sławomir Kamiński/Agencja Gazeta
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
