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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
A Polish deputy foreign minister has been charged with misappropriating millions of zloty entrusted to him and taking steps to prevent creditors from recovering money owed to them.
Prosecutors say that Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski used the money for personal expenses and to buy three apartments in Warsaw. His wife has also been charged in the case. Both of them deny the allegations, and Bartoszewski says he “will defend the truth and my good name”.
Prokurator z mazowieckiego wydziału PZ PK przedstawił posłowi na Sejm RP Władysławowi Teofilowi Bartoszewskiemu dwa zarzuty: przywłaszczenia powierzonych mu środków pieniężnych znacznej wartości oraz udaremnienia zaspokojenia wierzyciela.
Komunikat: ➡️ https://t.co/EXZ3NsovBh pic.twitter.com/Lmp2f3Bw2r
— Prokuratura (@PK_GOV_PL) November 10, 2026
The case dates back to before Bartoszewski had entered politics. In 2019, he became an MP for the centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL). In 2023, after PSL became a junior partner in the current ruling coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, he was made deputy foreign minister.
From 2004, say prosecutors, Bartoszewski was entrusted with managing the assets of Polish art collector and philanthropist Andrzej Ciechanowiecki, who was Bartoszewski’s godfather and a friend of his late father, Władysław Bartoszewski, a former Polish resistance fighter, Auschwitz prisoner, and later foreign minister.
From 2005, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, who has waived his right to anonymity in the case, also managed funds belonging to the Non Omnis Moriar Foundation, linked to the collector.
According to prosecutors, Bartoszewski used some of the money to buy and renovate three apartments in Warsaw between 2005 and 2006. From 2009, Ciechanowiecki began asking Bartoszewski to account for the funds, but he allegedly failed to do so and began avoiding contact with Ciechanowiecki.
In 2012, Ciechanowiecki and the foundation terminated their agreements with Bartoszewski and demanded the return of funds, say prosecutors. The following year, they filed a lawsuit demanding that Bartoszewski pay them around £1 million, 7.2 million zloty, €650,000 and $76,000, plus interest.
According to prosecutors, Bartoszewski then took steps to prevent the money from being recovered. A company owned by him and his wife sold three apartments in Warsaw, after which the couple disposed of their shares in the company. His wife also donated a property to their underage children.
“As a result of these actions, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski and his wife possess no assets from which the creditor’s claims could be satisfied,” prosecutors said.
In March 2024, a Warsaw court ordered Bartoszewski to pay the foundation more than 13.2 million zloty, plus interest. Prosecutors note that the judgment is not yet binding as an appeal is still pending.
Od półtora roku sąd nie wyznaczył terminu apelacji w sprawie Władysława Teofila Bartoszewskiego — dowiedział się Onet. Sąd pierwszej instancji nakazał wiceministrowi spraw zagranicznych zwrot aż 13 mln zł, jakie powierzył mu jego chrzestny https://t.co/JzPwcJG4KU
— Kamil Dziubka 🟡🇵🇱🇺🇦 (@KamilDziubka) November 4, 2025
Meanwhile, in 2023, representatives of the Ciechanowiecki Collection Foundation at the Royal Castle in Wawel, which now holds the assets of Ciechanowiecki (who died in 2015), filed a notification to prosecutors of alleged crimes committed by Bartoszewski and his wife.
Earlier this year, the prosecutor general, Waldemar Żurek, asked parliament to lift Bartoszewski’s immunity so that prosecutors could bring charges against him. However, he voluntarily waived it on 6 October.
At the time, Bartoszewski told newspaper Fakt that he “absolutely does not feel guilty” and “the evidence confirms this”. He also claimed that there is “a political element to my case”, though he did not elaborate further.
Sejmowa komisja regulaminowa opowiedziała się we wtorek za uchyleniem immunitetu posła PSL Władysława Teofila Bartoszewskiego w związku z wnioskiem prokuratury w sprawie podejrzenia popełnienia przez niego między innymi przestępstwa przywłaszczenia mienia.https://t.co/ydA0jNNUQ8
— tvn24 (@tvn24) October 6, 2026
On Tuesday this week, prosecutors announced that they had charged Bartoszewski with misappropriation of funds of significant value – £1 million, €405,000 and 6,683,705 zloty – entrusted to him by Ciechanowiecki and the foundation. The offence carries a prison sentence of between one and 10 years.
A second charge concerns allegedly taking steps to prevent or reduce the recovery of money owed to a creditor. It carries a prison sentence of between three months and five years.
Prosecutors say that, on the same day, they “brought similar charges” against Bartoszewski’s wife and that both of the accused denied guilt.
Wiceszef MSZ Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski oświadczył, że nie przyznaje się do popełnienia zarzucanych mu przez prokuraturę czynów. Zapowiedział, że będzie bronił prawdy i swojego dobrego imienia "tak długo, jak będzie to konieczne". https://t.co/tGodfs9Gzi
— Interia (@Int_Wydarzenia) November 10, 2026
In a statement issued later on Tuesday, Bartoszewski issued a statement rejecting the allegations and saying that he “will defend the truth and my good name in every instance, for as long as necessary”, reports the Polish Press AGency (PAP).
“I am convinced that both the criminal proceedings and the ongoing civil proceedings will confirm my arguments and rights to my property,” he added.
“I consistently maintain that all actions related to the acquisition of the real estate were consistent with the original will of Andrzej Ciechanowiecki expressed at the time of their purchase, and the premises were intended to constitute permanent financial security for my family.”
Asked whether the prime minister would dismiss Bartoszewski following the charges or wait for a court ruling, government spokesperson Adam Szłapka said that the deputy minister “is currently on leave and decisions regarding this matter will be made upon his return”.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland / Flickr
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
