The National Prosecutor’s Office accuses Romanowski – a politician of Sovereign Poland, an MP of the PiS club, who in 2019-2023 was the deputy head of the Ministry of Justice supervising the Justice Fund – of committing 11 crimes, including: participation in an organized criminal group and rigging competitions for money from this fund for a total amount of over PLN 112 million.
“Member of Parliament Marcin Romanowski will not appear at the Prosecutor’s Office today. This morning, an extensive letter was sent electronically to the Prosecutor’s Office, which indicates a number of formal obstacles related to the inability of the Prosecutor’s Office to carry out the activities,” attorney Lewandowski told PAP.
He mentioned: the lack of effective extension of the investigation, the need to discontinue the proceedings, and the impossibility of re-presenting charges that had already taken place. “However, a justifiable obstacle was also pointed out, which prevents my client from taking part in the hearing,” he added.
Romanowski was summoned to appear at the prosecutor’s office on Monday at 9. This was the first of two deadlines given to him by prosecutors investigating the Justice Fund case.
Read also in BUSINESS INSIDER
If Romanowski appears at the prosecutor’s office, hears the charges and gives explanations, prosecutors may – possibly – decide to submit a request to the court for his arrest. If the MP avoids appearing, prosecutors may order his detention in order to carry out planned activities. However, prosecutors cannot – due to the fact that the politician was already detained once in this case on July 15 – detain him again based on the same facts and evidence.
See also: Marcin Romanowski loses his immunity. In whose hands is the fate of the PiS MP?
The continuation of proceedings against Romanowski was made possible by the lifting of his immunity by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Earlier – due to this immunity – the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów did not agree to the arrest of the MP for a period of three months on July 16, and after the prosecutor’s office filed a complaint against this decision – on September 27, the District Court in Warsaw. On Wednesday (October 2), the Polish Parliament of the Council of Europe agreed to hold the MP criminally liable, as well as to detain and arrest him.
