A regional prosecutor in Lublin summoned the lawyer and Ko MP Roman Giertych to appear, but he refused to participate in the proceedings, arguing questions about his status as a suspect in the Polnord case. He signaled a forthcoming motion aimed at ending the investigation.
Beata Syk-Jankowska, spokesperson for the Lublin prosecutor’s office, confirmed to PAP on Tuesday that Giertych had been summoned on August 6 as a suspect. He attended the summons but declined to engage in the activities because he questioned his own status within the ongoing inquiry.
– she noted.
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Giertych’s special position
In an interview with PAP, MP Roman Giertych described the meeting as not a hearing. He stated that he appeared before the public prosecutor’s office and fulfilled the obligation to appear, as requested, in order to proceed with all formal steps. He also indicated that by the end of August he would submit his written position on Polnord matters and request the termination of the proceedings.
– the MP added.
He noted that he had filed a report regarding a possible disciplinary tort by the former spokesman of the Lublin regional prosecutor’s office, Andrzej Jeżyński. He claimed that information given on September 6 last year about new charges against him was false and described the statements as public deception. He suggested that the case would likely involve Jerzy Ziarkiewicz, the former head of the same prosecutor’s office, who, in his view, orchestrated the operation.
- Giertych asserted.
Giertych said he had been told at a prosecutor’s office meeting that there were no fresh charges beyond those already determined by the courts. He argued that the case files he had access to confirmed this point.
– he added.
According to the MP, the campaign was aimed at assisting his rival in the electoral district, Jarosław Kaczyński. For the past year, he said, he believed new charges were looming, but it turned out to involve the Ziarkiewicz office assisting Kaczyński’s campaign. He pledged to pursue criminal and civil accountability against those who led him to expect new cases that the courts did not consider.
– the MP told PAP.
He stressed that all charges brought against him three years earlier had been declared baseless by several court rulings.
The first indictment against him came from the Poznań Regional Prosecutor’s Office on October 8, 2020. A year later, on October 14, 2021, the Lublin Regional Prosecutor’s Office issued a revised and expanded set of charges. One count involved harming Polnord and misappropriating property valued at more than PLN 72 million. Two more counts alleged harm to Polnord and losses totaling PLN 4.5 million arising from an agreement for the firm’s representation in proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court. The final charge related to money laundering amounting to about PLN 5.2 million.
Giertych serves as a KO MP. In April, the Lublin prosecutor’s office announced it would not seek to lift his immunity, citing a lack of grounds for doing so. The Polnord inquiry was extended to October 16.
Roman Giertych was among twelve individuals arrested in mid-October 2020 in connection with a probe into the removal and embezzlement of about PLN 92 million from the listed development company Polnord. Those detained were accused of siphoning funds from the company, causing substantial material damage, and involvement in money laundering.
Giertych was taken to a Warsaw hospital after fainting during a police search of his home. His lawyers later stated that communication with his lawyer from the hospital was not possible due to his health, hindering the formal announcement of charges at the time.
The prosecutor’s office subsequently announced preventive measures, including a PLN 5 million property guarantee. His lawyers appealed, and the Poznań District Court eventually annulled the enforcement of these measures, ruling that the charges had not been properly announced in court.
Both levels of the Poznań courts rejected the prosecutor’s request for pre-trial detention, noting that the evidence did not sufficiently prove guilt on the charged acts.
In December 2021, the Lublin regional prosecutor’s office filed a request for temporary detention in connection with Giertych’s non-appearance at more than 21 summons and the prosecutor’s office attempting to reach him at numerous addresses over the year.
Giertych countered that the subpoenas were illegal and insisted that he had never committed a crime.
In March 2022, the Lublin-Zachód District Court did not accept the request for pre-trial detention. The court upheld the initial decision.
On November 13, 2023, Roman Giertych took the oath as a member of the Sejm, gaining immunity. He had won a parliamentary seat in the October 15, 2023 elections, starting from the Civic Coalition list in Kielce.
Proc. Ostrowski comments on Giertych’s actions
Prosecutor Michał Ostrowski, Deputy Prosecutor General, commented on Giertych’s conduct in Telewizja wPolska. He expressed surprise at what he described as the lawyer’s procedural stance, noting that someone with such a long public legal career should know how to handle the process when facing a suspect.
– Ostrowski added. He suggested that changes at the Lublin prosecutor’s office leadership did not alter the MP’s situation, joking that perhaps the suspect came to the office to talk with the prosecutor over coffee instead of answering questions. He called the episode unprecedented.
Source: wPolityce