The end of the hunt for officials? A sensational decision of the prosecutor's office regarding SKOK Wołomin

The prosecutor in the trial of the former heads of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority regarding the supervision of SKOK Wołomin asked the seven defendants for consent to withdraw the indictment against them, Anna Adamiak, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General, told PAP. She added that the decision was “a consequence of the order issued by PG”.

– On Thursday, during the hearing before the District Court in Warsaw, the prosecutor acting as the prosecutor asked the defendants for written statements consenting to the withdrawal of the indictment regarding the charges brought against them – prosecutor Adamiak told PAP. She added that at Thursday's hearing, the prosecutor obtained the consent of two defendants to be included in the minutes, while the remaining five were to take their stand in writing within seven days.

As Adamiak noted, “the prosecutor's behavior was the consequence of an order issued by the Prosecutor General, who, using his statutory authority, instructed the prosecuting prosecutor to ask for such written statements during the hearing, because such consent is necessary for the prosecutor to take further actions – namely, to withdraw the indictment in the scope relating to these people.”

– This is a preliminary stage before the prosecutor can submit a statement about withdrawing the indictment in the part relating to these people – said prosecutor Adamiak.

However, the PG spokeswoman noted that there are also auxiliary prosecutors in the case and there are also people who have the status of victims. – The submission of a declaration by the prosecutor on the withdrawal of the indictment does not deprive these persons of the right to participate in these proceedings, because persons who are auxiliary prosecutors continue to play this role, and the victims of these proceedings, who did not benefit from such a procedural position, will have 14 days to decide whether they want to join these proceedings as an auxiliary prosecutor – she explained.

– In no way does the withdrawal of the indictment deprive the victims of the right to pursue their rights in these proceedings – emphasized prosecutor Adamiak.

In the trial, which has been ongoing since September 2023 before the District Court in Warsaw, the defendants include, among others: former heads and employees of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority who were accused of failing to fulfill their official duties regarding the supervision of SKOK Wołomin.

There are a total of 11 people on the defendant's bench, including 7 people from the then management of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Apart from the chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority in 2011-2016, Andrzej Jakubiak, this includes, among others: Wojciech Kwaśniak – his deputy at that time.

– This is an important signal of reflection that took place in the prosecutor's office after the analyzes and verification of information also collected as part of the previous court proceedings – Kwaśniak commented to PAP on Thursday on the prosecutor's decision.

The proceedings against the former management of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority were widely reported a few years ago, during the PiS government. As the prosecutor's office informed then, the accused officials, while supervising SKOK Wołomin in 2013-2014, were allegedly guilty of negligence that allowed the continuation of criminal activities at this credit union.

– I made sure that the highest diligence and professionalism was maintained in activities towards SKOK Wołomin. I am convinced that during this trial, me and my colleagues will be cleared of the charges, Jakubiak said at the beginning of the trial.

At the beginning of this year, the Warsaw court in this trial began hearing – as witnesses – people associated with the management of Kasa Krajowa SKOK during the operation of SKOK Wołomin. In mid-February, the witness was the co-founder of social savings and credit unions and long-time head of the National Savings Bank, PiS senator Grzegorz Bierecki.

In connection with this case – at the investigation stage in December 2018 – the CBA detained several PFSA officials, including Kwaśniak. They were then transported to Szczecin. However, in 2019, the Szczecin court found that the detention was unjustified and revoked all preventive measures applied to the detainees. The Court of Appeal in Warsaw later awarded PLN 20,000 from the State Treasury to Kwaśniak. PLN as compensation for unfair detention.

Nearly 30 pages were devoted to this procedure in the report published at the end of April last year. the second part of the report on the audit of cases from 2016-2023, i.e. from the times of PiS government. This case opened the chapter entitled: “Proceedings concerning the initiation of criminal proceedings to achieve political goals.” “As for the concept existing in the media about the possibility of withdrawing the indictment, it should be noted that such a decision – at this stage – would require the consent of the accused,” the report wrote.

Although this report noted that – due to the then stage of the proceedings and legal provisions – the withdrawal of “the public complaint is not procedurally or substantively justified”, at the same time a recommendation was formulated to change the prosecutor in the case. A month later – at the end of May last year. – it was reported that the prosecutor's functions in this trial were taken over by a prosecutor from the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw. The prosecutor from Szczecin who had previously accused him was excluded from the case.

Kwaśniak was the victim of an attack in 2014, and the severe beating of the deputy head of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority is one of the most famous topics in the scandal related to SKOK Wołomin. In March last year The District Court in Warsaw upheld the conviction in the case of this assault, validly sentencing Piotr Polaszczyk, who sat on the supervisory board of SKOK Wołomin – whom the prosecutor's office accused of inciting the beating of the deputy head of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority – to 8 years in prison. The defense filed a cassation appeal, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court at the beginning of March this year. as “obviously unfounded”.

In turn, at the end of December last year The District Court of Warsaw-Praga sentenced Polaszczyk (illegally) to 14 years in prison in a trial concerning “laundering” approximately PLN 350 million. The defense has already announced an appeal.

However, since the beginning of December last year the main trial regarding the SKOK Wołomin scandal is taking place before the same district court. There are over 60 people on the bench of the accused in this main trial, the indictment itself consists of 29 volumes, over 5.5 thousand. pages.

Marcin Jabłoński (PAP)

mja/ ugw/