Poland’s state auditor, Marian Banaś, has been reported to prosecutors by his own deputy, who accuses the official of abusing his powers. Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee today voted in favour of stripping Banaś of his immunity in order to face various charges, including giving false asset declarations.
The developments mark the latest stage in a long-running controversy around Banaś. His Supreme Audit Office (NIK) has highlighted wasteful spending and alleged crimes by the government. But Banaś himself has been accused of corruption, and of using NIK for personal and political purposes.
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Yesterday, the district prosecutors office in Warsaw announced that a vice president of NIK, Tadeusz Dziuba, had notified them of suspected crimes by Banaś. The alleged offences include abuse of powers, failing to fulfil legal obligations, using auditors for duties beyond their legal ones, and disclosing a legally protected secret.
According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the allegations against Banaś relate in part to him appointing directors who lack proper competence and advisors who have unlawfully obtained information covered by auditors’ secrecy. Among the latter is reportedly Banaś’s own son Jakub (who is separately accused of corruption).
Dziuba has himself been in conflict with Banaś for some time, reports RMF24. Last year, he criticised the NIK president for holding a meeting with the Belarusian Supreme Audit Office. In response, Banaś applied to parliament in December for Dziuba to be dismissed, but that request was rejected.
In further developments today, parliament’s regulatory committee re-examined a request from prosecutors for Banaś’s legal immunity to be lifted so that he could face around a dozen charges (which are separate from the accusations made by Dziuba).
Early this morning, Banaś tweeted that his office had only been informed at 10.30 p.m. last night that the committee would be meeting this morning at 9 a.m. to deal with the issue of his immunity. “How is your morning going?” he jokingly asked his followers.
Banaś had spoken in front of the committee yesterday, after which he declared that he was “the target of ruthless attacks by the secret services and media connected to them”, reports Interia. The issue of his immunity is “a purely political matter invented by the [ruling] Law and Justice” party.
Powtórka z historii, "Nocna Zmiana @pisorgpl 2.0"
Wczoraj o godzinie 22:30 i 22:37 pocztą elektroniczną, na mój sekretariat wpłynęły pisma zawiadamiające o dzisiejszej Komisji na godz. 9:00, która zajmie się wnioskiem o uchylenie mi immunitetu.
A jak państwu mija poranek?😎 pic.twitter.com/jxM10g4cA1
— Marian Banaś (@marian_banas) January 26, 2022
In a behind-closed-doors vote today, a 9-7 majority of the committee supported lifting Banaś’s immunity. Banaś’s legal representative was refused permission to speak ahead of the decision, reports TVN24.
The vote – and the manner in which it was conducted – was immediately condemned by opposition MPs. Michał Szczerbiak of Civic Platform (PO) said it had been an “illegal procedure” that “violated the standards of a democratic state”.
Szczerbiak also noted that the request to waive the NIK president’s immunity had been signed by Zbigniew Ziobro, the justice minister and prosecutor general. But Ziobro is “unauthorised” to do so, said Szczerbiak, and the request should therefore have been rejected by the speaker of parliament.
Wniosek o uchylenie immunitetu @marian_banas podpisała osoba nieupoważniona. Nie ma zarządzania Prokuratora Generalnego. Ziobro potwierdza upoważnienie do przekazania wniosku. Wniosek z wadami formalnymi, powinien zostać zwrócony przez Marszałek. Procedowanie bezprawne! pic.twitter.com/lTWwRTdqvV
— Michał Szczerba (@MichalSzczerba) January 26, 2022
The final decision on whether to waive the NIK president’s immunity will be made by the main chamber of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, where the ruling United Right coalition has a narrow though unstable majority.
Among the charges prosecutors want to bring against Banaś are for issuing false asset statements. The NIK chief has for years faced investigation by the Central Anti-corruption Bureau (CBA) over the issue. In 2020, his lawyer admitted that, because Banaś was often “in a hurry”, there may have been some “inaccuracies” in his asset reports.
In 2019, around the time of his appointment to lead NIK, an investigation by broadcaster TVN also alleged that Banaś had links to a criminal group and that a building belonging to him had been used for prostitution.
Speaking to TVN last night, Banaś claimed that the accusations against him are “simply slander” and pledged that, if his immunity is lifted, he would be able to “prove my innocence before an independent court”.
Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
