Public Prosecutor Seeks Provisional Arrest in High-Profile Warsaw Corruption Case
Following questioning of a suspect, the public prosecutor requested the court to order provisional arrest for Włodzimierz Karpiński wz. with charges related to demanding and accepting a financial advantage. The spokesman for the national prosecutor’s office, prosecutor Łukasz Łapczyński, informed PAP on Tuesday.
Investigators allege that Karpiński agreed to conceal his name while agreeing to accept a financial advantage connected to changes in the specifications for a public procurement project and accepted nearly 5 million PLN in the process. Prosecutor Łapczyński noted that the suspect did not admit to the alleged act and did not provide an explanation.
At the moment, the public prosecutor’s office has withheld additional information about the case.
Włodzimierz Karpiński, a former secretary of the capital city administration and former finance minister in the Civic Platform government, previously led the municipal corporation MPO. He was detained on Monday at the request of the Silesian branch of the State Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice as part of an ongoing inquiry into corruption and influence peddling.
Karpiński was taken by the Central Bureau of Investigation to the PK’s Silesian branch headquarters in the early afternoon. Later that day, the national prosecutor’s office confirmed that Karpiński’s interrogation had concluded.
Next Steps and Preventive Measures
On Tuesday a decision will be made regarding preventive measures in the case.
Karpiński was charged with one count; he provided extensive statements describing his role in a process that allegedly helped Warsaw achieve savings of 300 million PLN through waste stream management. He denied ever agreeing with Rafał Baniak to influence Karpiński’s position and stated he does not anticipate such an arrangement in the future.
His lawyer, Michał Królikowski, commented that Karpiński was surprised by the allegations at this stage. The lawyer added that his client consents to be named publicly and photographed.
Earlier, Karpiński’s detention occurred in a broader investigation in which former deputy finance minister Rafał Baniak and several others were arrested in February. They are suspected of arranging contracts worth 600 million PLN for the Municipal Purification Company in Warsaw.
In this context, Baniak faces charges of leading an organized crime group and exerting influence. The contracts with MPO Warsaw totaling around 600 million PLN allegedly involved bribes amounting to nearly 5 million PLN. Court records show Baniak and two associates were detained for three months. His lawyer noted that the former deputy minister did not admit to the alleged actions.
Prosecutors say the corruption scheme related to waste management contracts in the capital operated from August 2020 to August 2020. They describe a mechanism by which representatives of a capital group sought to win MPO contracts and, in turn, received significant orders for waste treatment services in Warsaw. The period of 2021 to 2022 saw these companies managing capital waste and obtaining MPO Warsaw orders totaling nearly 600 million PLN.
Investigators indicate that to secure government contracts, Baniak demanded a fee of 5 percent from the contract value. Rafał B. and associates including Artur P. and Wojciech S. allegedly created a system enabling the withdrawal of millions in financial gains.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the latest payment of a 300,000 PLN cash tranche to Baniak occurred in December 2022, and overall funds benefiting him and collaborators from January 2021 to December 2022 are said to total not less than 4.99 million PLN. Cash payments reportedly occurred during social gatherings.
Following Karpiński’s arrest, representatives from Law and Justice and MPs from Solidarna Polska called for an extraordinary Warsaw Council session. A motion has been submitted, and the council chairman stated an extraordinary meeting would be held within the legal deadline.
Further coverage is available from independent reporting and agency updates. Sources in the media note that the case remains under active review and may develop with new disclosures.
Source: wPolityce