Marian Banaś, the head of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), has notified prosecutors of suspected crimes by Jarosław Kaczyński, chairman of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and Poland’s most powerful politician.
The development is the latest escalation in a conflict between Banaś and the PiS government that he previously served in as a minister. Last week, NIK also notified prosecutors of suspected crimes by the prime minister and three other members of the cabinet.
In a statement issued this morning, Banaś announced he had notified prosecutors that he suspects Kaczyński of committing the crimes of insulting an official, using violence or unlawful threats against an official, and defamation – all of which carry potential prison sentences.
Banaś said that his accusations against Kaczyński stem from the latter’s “recent media activity”, reports TVN24. The PiS chairman has, in response to NIK’s actions against the government, raised doubts about Banaś’s own integrity.
In a recent interview with Wprost, Kaczyński noted that Banaś is subject to “several investigations himself”. In another interview with Sieci, he said that “it is a great fault of our legal system that a person against whom serious investigations are underway may be president of the Supreme Audit Office”.
Banaś has been investigated by anti-corruption authorities over his personal assets, including a property that was reportedly used as a brothel. He has also been investigated in connection with his subordinates in a previous role at the finance ministry, who have been charged with VAT fraud.
In his statement today, Banaś said that Kaczyński, who serves as deputy prime minister with oversight of security, “should especially appreciate the principle of the presumption of innocence” and be aware that prosecutors have not brought any charges against him.
The NIK president said that he cannot “allow for a situation in which a representative of one of the institutions subject to inspection [by NIK] unlawfully exerts an influence on the activities of the inspection body”.
Given the “scale of the violations” by Kaczyński, it “became necessary to take firm measures to defend the independence of the Supreme Audit Office”, said Banaś, quoted by Wirtualna Polska.
Banaś served the PiS-led administration from 2015 to 2019, first as head of the customs service, then leading the National Revenue Administration, a tax authority, before becoming finance minister.
In August 2019, he was elected by the PiS-controlled parliament as head of NIK, a state body responsible for auditing public spending and management of public property. However, just a few weeks later, media reports emerged accusing Banaś of having links to criminal groups (which he denies).
The prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, urged Banaś to resign. However, the NIK president has refused to do so, and neither the government nor parliament has the power to remove him.
In November 2019, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) notified prosecutors of a suspected crime by Banaś relating to alleged false asset declarations that concealed his wealth and sources of income. However, no charges have yet been brought against him.
Last month, NIK released a report that blamed top government officials, including the prime minister, for unlawfully attempting to organise presidential elections last year, at a cost of at least 76 million zloty. That was followed two weeks later by notifications to prosecutors of suspected crimes by Morawiecki and three other ministers.
Last year, a Warsaw court separately ruled that Morawiecki had committed a “gross violation of the law” in attempting to organise those elections before relevant legislation had been passed. The prime minister denies wrongdoing and is contesting that ruling.
Main image credit: Grzegorz Skowronek / Agencja Gazeta
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
