The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin has launched an investigation into a gross abuse of power by officials from the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA). The alleged offence occurred during the arrest of well-known businessman Przemysław Krych.
Przemysław Krych is a financier and investor, widely regarded as a prominent figure in the business world. He founded Griffin Real Estate, now the largest player in Poland’s commercial real estate market, as well as the investment firm Cornerstone, which was instrumental in the development of companies such as LuxMed.
On 19 December 2017, the businessman was detained by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice, known for its loyalty to Zbigniew Ziobro, and held in custody for six months on bribery charges. The case concerned charitable donations made to the Foundation for People with Disabilities, run by PiS senator Stanisław Kogut. The donations were allegedly made in exchange for ensuring that a hotel and a cinema in Krych’s portfolio would not be added to the register of historic monuments.
However, Przemysław Krych had been supporting the foundation for many years, including during a time when PiS was still in opposition and few could have imagined it would one day assume full power. Moreover, at the time the alleged ‘bribe’ was paid, the hotel and cinema in question had already been granted status of historic monuments.
Investigation into Przemysław Krych case: EUR 1.5 million bribe to avoid trouble
‘On 27 October 2017, approximately two months before my arrest, a certain Krzysztof Porowski, a Silesian businessman of dubious reputation, turned up at our office,’ Przemysław Krych recounted to Gazeta Wyborcza in the autumn of last year. ‘I had met him in passing before. Occasionally I’d see him at official events, such as the opening of a shopping centre in Katowice.’
He went on, ‘Porowski came to meet with my associate, and I was later invited to join the meeting. He stated that the security services had taken an interest in us, but if we were to pay EUR 1.5 million, which he calculated as a percentage of the assets we managed, all our problems would go away. He claimed he was acting on behalf of someone he described using three clues: first, a former prosecutor from Katowice; second, a former senior officer of the Internal Security Agency (ABW); and third, the current deputy head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA). There is, as far as I know, only one person on the face of the earth who meets all three criteria. But as far as I’m aware, the prosecutor’s office in Katowice has not yet determined who that person is.’
Krych and his colleague assumed it was some kind of misunderstanding. After a brief discussion, they decided not to pursue the matter any further. Krych made a note for his investors, and that was the end of it – at least for a time.
Years later, the indictment was finally submitted to the court in Kraków.
‘Unofficially, the prosecutor, through one of my defence lawyers, made me an offer,’ Krych told Wyborcza. ‘I was to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for a significantly reduced sentence. The deal was simple: I plead guilty, and in return I wouldn’t go to prison. Considering they claimed I had handed out bribes worth millions, and I was facing 12 years in prison, it seemed awfully generous. But of course I have no intention of admitting to anything. I am innocent. If I were to give in, I’d be betraying myself.’
‘Multiple offences committed against the administration of justice’
On 17 March 2025, the Investigations Division of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of power by officials from the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice and the Central Bureau of Investigation during the arrest of Przemysław Krych.
The offence notification in the case was filed by the authorised representative of the Open Dialogue Foundation, an organisation actively engaged in the defence of civil liberties in Poland. Its members have participated in the Free Courts campaigns, protests in defence of the constitution, and the All-Poland Women’s Strike.
‘The representative of the Open Dialogue Foundation, referring among other things to an interview published in Gazeta Wyborcza, pointed to the possible commission – during the investigation overseen by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice – of multiple offences against the administration of justice and the private interests of several individuals,’ Beata Kępka, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, told Wyborcza.
She added, ‘According to the reporting party, numerous irregularities were committed in the course of the proceedings in question, in particular the fabrication of evidence, the use of deceptive tactics, and the unlawful extraction of statements from suspects, all aimed at initiating criminal proceedings against a specific individual.’
During the investigation, prosecutors in Lublin have already interviewed the representative of the Open Dialogue Foundation, who confirmed the circumstances set out in the notification. On Tuesday, 15 April, Przemysław Krych was also questioned, though the investigators have not disclosed the details of his testimony.
‘The offences under investigation are punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment,’ said prosecutor Kępka.
Source: wyborcza.pl
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