Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Friday accepted the resignation of Jacek Żalek as State Secretary at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, government spokesman Piotr Müller said.
The Prime Minister accepted Jacek Żalek’s resignation
Jacek Żalek, MP of the PiS club and Republican Party politician, announced on Thursday evening that due to the ongoing proceedings and – as he wrote – “in connection with false information that appeared in the media space”, he was resigning from the position of State Secretary at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. As deputy minister, Żalek oversaw the National Center for Research and Development a few weeks ago.
Today, the Prime Minister accepted the resignation, signed it and therefore the Minister ceased his duties
A government spokesman told reporters on Friday.
He added that no application had been received so far from MFiPR head Grzegorz Puda regarding the possible appointment of Żalek’s successor in the ministry.
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The grant case under the National Center for Research and Development competition
Żalek’s resignation is related to the case of two grants awarded as part of the National Center for Research and Development’s competition “Fast track – digital innovations”. The first grant, amounting to PLN 55 million, was awarded to a company with capital of PLN 5,000. PLN determined 10 days before the application deadline, by a person less than 30 years old; the company’s application received the lowest possible funding score. The second suspected grant – amounting to PLN 123 million – was awarded to a project on “undersea cybersecurity” to a company from Białystok, which had reported losses over the past two years.
In early March, Dariusz Joński and Michał Szczerba, MPs from the KO: Dariusz Joński and Michał Szczerba, who conducted parliamentary scrutiny of the NCBiR, announced that the payment of funds to these two companies had been blocked. They also presented the network of connections they believed existed between these companies and the Republican Party.
On February 13, the head of the MFiPR, Grzegorz Puda, fired the acting director of the NCBiR, Paweł Kuch, who had led the institution since August 2022, and appointed a new acting head of the center – Jacek Orzeł. Orzeł was previously director of the security policy office at MFiPR. On February 14, Deputy Minister Żalek – who is also a Republican Party politician – announced that the decision of the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy had triggered an inspection at the National Center for Research and Development. The inspectorate must investigate the correctness of the “Fast Track – digital innovations” competition.
On February 15, the Ministry of Funds informed that the National Center for Research and Development had sent a notification to the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of committing an offense regarding possible irregularities in the selection of a project submitted under the ” Fast Track – Digital Innovations” procedure. co-funding competition. On February 22, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau began an inspection at the National Center for Research and Development.
On Thursday, the Onet.pl portal reported that it had access to the contents of the testimony given by Żalek to investigators a few days ago. The portal reported that Żalek would provide the prosecutor’s office with transcripts of conversations of people from the management of the National Center for Research and Development.
Referring to transcripts of the recordings, the State Secretary describes, among other things, how the Republican Party had to secure itself financially if it lost the parliamentary elections. This action would be called “Black Coal”.
Onenet wrote.
Żalek announced his resignation as deputy minister in a Twitter post on Thursday evening.
Due to ongoing proceedings related to false information appearing in the media damaging my good name and image of the United Right, I have today resigned from the position of Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy until the matter is clarified
Zalek wrote.
He expressed his belief that “any doubt will be clarified by the appropriate government authorities” and “his good name will be cleared”.
At the same time, I categorically state that I have in no way made any accusations against the Republican Party
Zalek wrote.
In early March, Republican Party leader Adam Bielan, when asked about the NCBiR contest, said on TVP Info that no zloty had been spent from the grants awarded as part of the two-project NCBiR contest and that the NCBiR should consider legal action related to information received by the funds for these two companies. He added that he would consider such legal action against people who insulted him or his party.
wkt/PAP
Source: wPolityce