Former Polish government official detained in London under arrest warrant from Poland

The former head of Poland’s Government Strategic Reserves Agency (RARS) has been detained in London after Poland issued international warrants for his arrest.

Michał Kuczmierowski, who led RARS under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, is wanted by Polish prosecutors for alleged abuses of his powers for financial gain. He could face up to ten years in prison if convicted.

He has denied the accusations against him and suggested he would not receive a fair trial in Poland under the current ruling coalition. Former PiS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called the case against Kuczmierowski an “act of political revenge by [current Prime Minister] Donald Tusk’s gang”.

Last month, a court ordered the pretrial detention of Kuczmierowski. However, prosecutors noted that he was not in Poland, with reports indicating he was in Northern Cyprus.

However, last week, Kuczmierowski told news website wPolityce that he was in London “looking for a job”. He insisted he was not “fleeing justice” but said he only wanted to return to Poland “when I have the guarantee of a fair trial”.

On Monday morning, Warsaw’s district court confirmed that both a European Arrest Warrant, which covers EU countries, and another warrant covering the UK had been issued for the former official on 31 August.

A few hours later, prosecutors announced that Kuczmierowski had been detained in London. Broadcaster TVN reports that he will face a court hearing regarding his potential extradition tomorrow.

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News website Onet reports that there are suspicions regarding hundreds of millions of zloty of spending by RARS under Kuczmierowski’s leadership, including money intended for fighting the COVID pandemic and for supporting Ukraine.

The money was reportedly transferred to companies that had friendly relations with RARS management, including some run by a man who can only be named as Paweł Sz. under Polish privacy law and who is the founder of Red is Bad, a well-known “patriotic” clothing company.

Prosecutors want to charge Kuczmierowski with participation in an organised criminal group, exceeding his authority, and failing to fulfil his duties in order to gain financial benefits. They are also seeking to detain Paweł Sz., who is likewise believed to be abroad.

In an interview with the Rzeczpospolita daily, Kuczmierowski insisted that he “has nothing to reproach myself for” and that he “will prove my innocence in court”.

Last month, Morawiecki said that he was “fully convinced of Kuczmierowski’s honesty, which he will certainly prove during the trial”. He accused the current government of trying to “destroy everything and everyone in its path who serve Poland well”.

“The smear campaign against Kuczmierowski and his associates is based on lies, manipulations and half-truths,” added Morawiecki, whose PiS party is now the main opposition.

The new ruling coalition, led by Donald Tusk, that took office in December has promised to hold former PiS-era officials to account for alleged corruption and other abuses under their eight years of rule. That has included seeking to bring charges against a number of former members of the PiS government.

Main image credit: Krystian Maj/KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles

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.