On Tuesday, the head of the Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek, sent two letters to the Hungarian authorities regarding the investigation conducted by the Investigative Team No. 2 of the National Prosecutor's Office regarding irregularities related to the Justice Fund – informed the spokeswoman of the PG, Anna Adamiak.
As we read in the PG press release, in the first letter Waldemar Żurek asked the Minister of Justice of Hungary for information whether the European arrest warrant issued by a Polish court against Marcin Romanowski, “who is hiding from the Polish justice system, has been issued, and if so – at what stage the proceedings regarding its execution are.”
In the second letter addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Hungary, Waldemar Żurek provided information about the investigation conducted by the Investigation Team No. 2 of the National Prosecutor's Office, during which, against Z.Bigniew Ziobro, a decision was issued to present charges of committing 26 crimes, and Marcin Romanowski was charged with 19 crimesamong others misappropriation and attempted misappropriation of large amounts of public funds from the Justice Fund.
Do Ziobro and Romanowski have refugee status?
According to the statement of the head of the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General informed the head of the Ministry of Interior of Hungary “about the implementation of the search for Marcin R. on the basis of the European arrest warrant, which was submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Hungary in a letter of February 27, 2026.”
At the same time, he pointed out that Zbigniew Z. and Marcin R. are currently staying in Hungary, and information unconfirmed officially by the Hungarian authorities shows that they have been granted asylum there – we read.
Waldemar Żurek also asked the Hungarian Minister of Internal Affairs “to confirm that both suspects have obtained refugee status and to indicate the dates of these decisions,” the press release emphasized.
“In addition, in the event of confirmation that Zbigniew Z. and Marcin R. have obtained the right of asylum in the territory of Hungary, the Minister of Justice The Prosecutor General asked for actions to be taken to repeal these decisions. – says the message.
It emphasized that in the event that Zbigniew Ziobro and Marcin Romanowski were confirmed to have obtained the right to asylum in Hungary, “the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, asked for actions to be taken to repeal these decisions.” According to the head of the Ministry of Justice, “they may violate European Union law and the principle of mutual trust between Member States, based on compliance with EU law and common values, such as the rule of law and fundamental rights, including human rights.”
“These values constitute an important element of the proper functioning of the European Arrest Warrant and the entire system of judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the European Union,” the statement emphasized.
Justice Fund: EAW and extradition requests
Under Viktor Orban's government, former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro and his former deputy in the ministry, Marcin Romanowski, received international protection in Hungary. The National Prosecutor's Office brought charges against both of them regarding irregularities in the Justice Fund. In mid-February, the Warsaw court again issued a European Arrest Warrant against Romanowski; The prosecutor's office requesting an EAW against Ziobro is pending in court.
In Sunday's parliamentary elections in Hungary, Peter Magyar's TISZA party won, and the Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by Victor Orban received only 55 seats in the 199-seat parliament. When asked in February what would happen to the former head of the Ministry of Justice, PiS MP Zbigniew Ziobro, and the former deputy head of the Ministry of Justice, PiS MP Marcin Romanowski, if his party took power, Magyar stated that after TISZ formed the government, if they are still in Hungary, they will be extradited.
Justice Fund: EAW and extradition requests
During Monday's press conference in Budapest, the Justice Fund: EAW and extradition requests – I already suggested to them not to go to Ikea and buy furniture, because they won't stay here long. Hungary will not accept wanted international criminals, he stressed.
Both Romanowski and Ziobro have been charged with allegations in the investigation into the functioning of the Justice Fund during the PiS government. The prosecutor's office accuses Ziobro of, among other things, leading an organized criminal group and using his position for criminal activities. Ziobro allegedly committed 26 crimes, including: give orders to his subordinates to break the law in order to provide selected entities with subsidies from the Justice Fund, interfere in the preparation of competition offers and allow funds to be awarded to unauthorized entities.
A breakthrough in the Justice Fund investigation?
The first European Arrest Warrant was issued for Romanowski in December 2024. Then it turned out that the Hungarian government had granted him asylum. A year later, in December 2025, this EAW was annulled. The prosecutor's office sent a renewed application, and the District Court in Warsaw accepted it in February 2026 and re-issued the EAW for Romanowski.
So far, however, the court has not decided on the prosecutor's office's request to issue an EAW against Ziobro. So far, an arrest warrant has been issued for him, which occurred after he expressed his consent in February this year. by the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów consent to arrest. Subsequently, an application for an EAW was submitted. The fact that Ziobro was granted international protection by the Hungarian authorities was announced in early January this year.
Currently, both the complaint against the arrest and the application for an EAW have been pending in the Warsaw district court regarding Ziobro for almost two months. In recent weeks, applications regarding complaints regarding arrest have been considered, among others: Ziobro's defenders to exclude individual judges appointed to this case. Currently, the complaint has been submitted to a panel of three judges. In turn, in the case of issuing an EAW, the court also dealt with requests to exclude judges. Moreover, at the end of March this year The Court of Appeal did not accept the request of Ziobro's defense attorney to suspend the proceedings regarding the issuance of the EAW, but this issue is currently at the appeal stage. (PAP)
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