Poland’s former deputy foreign minister has been arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into the “money for visas” scandal, POLITICO reports.
Piotr Wawrzyk, who served as deputy foreign minister from January 2021 to August last year, was detained and accused of exceeding his authority while handling ministry documents, Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) said in a statement. Police searched his home for possible evidence.
Wawrzyk’s arrest comes amid a bitter battle over the rule of law in Poland, with the country’s new government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which came to power in elections last October, vowing to hold the previous administration of the Law and Justice (PiS) party to account.
Last August, a high-profile cash-for-visas scandal was uncovered. Polish media reported that thousands of non-EU citizens, mostly from Asia and Africa, paid to jump the visa queue at Polish consulates around the world. According to media reports, some 250,000 visas were issued in exchange for bribes, while opposition MPs at the time put the figure at 350,000.
Tusk, Poland’s opposition leader at the time, called it “probably the biggest scandal in Poland in the 21st century.”
The CBA said in a statement that the investigation “concerns, among other things, promises of financial benefits in exchange for mediation in matters related to residence permits…. as well as unlawful influence on the course of authorisations.” Eight other individuals have been charged in the case.
In a statement to local media through his lawyer, Wawrzyk pleaded not guilty. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
