Polish president pardons anti-corruption officers convicted alongside PiS politicians for abusing powers

President Andrzej Duda has issued pardons to two former officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) who were convicted for abusing their powers in a case that also saw two leading politicians from the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party convicted and then pardoned.

Broadcaster TVN first reported that Duda, a PiS ally, had decided on Wednesday to pardon the two agents, named only as Krzysztof B. and Grzegorz P. under Polish privacy law. Earlier the same day a court in Warsaw had ordered that the pair begin serving prison sentences for their crimes.

In a statement, the presidential chancellery confirmed that Duda had issued the pardons despite requests from prosecutor general Adam Bodnar, a member of the government that replaced PiS in office in December, not to do so.

It said the president had done so due to “exceptional state considerations, including the preservation of the constitutional and social order, political and humanitarian reasons”.

Następni funkcjonariusze CBA ułaskawieni przez Andrzeja Dudę. Zanim się obejrzymy, gotów będzie ułaskawić cały PiS.

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) April 26, 2024

The case in question is a long-running and controversial one. In 2015, Krzysztof B. and Grzegorz P. were convicted for abusing their powers along with Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, the former head and deputy head of the CBA respectively. They were given jail sentences and bans on holding public office.

The four were originally charged in 2009 over their actions in investigating a 2007 case – called the “land scandal” (afera gruntowa) by Polish media – that concerned claims by businessmen that thanks to their contacts in the agriculture ministry they were able to change the legal status of any plot of land in Poland.

The case was a highly political one involving a coalition partner in the then PiS government, the Self-Defence (Samoobrona) party led by Andrzej Lepper. The aim of the investigation was to help PiS destroy Self-Defence and take over its electorate, according to Gazeta Wybrocza a leading liberal daily

The quartet were found in court to have used forged documents and illegal wiretaps during the investigation.

O co chodziło w aferze gruntowej? To za nią sądy skazały Mariusza Kamińskiego i Macieja Wąsika https://t.co/C35D59KMrR pic.twitter.com/x9lOAtQUYc

— Money.pl (@Money_pl) January 8, 2024

But in 2015, while they were still appealing convictions for those crimes, President Andrzej Duda issued the four with pardons. Soon afterwards, Kamiński and Wąsik became ministers in a new government led by PiS. They remained in office until PiS lost last year’s elections.

However, last year the Supreme Court ruled that Duda’s pardons were invalid because they were issued before final convictions had been handed down. That opened the way for the quartet’s appeals to resume, and in December their guilt was confirmed in final court rulings.

In January, Kamiński and Wąsik were forced to begin serving their jail sentences. But later that month, Duda – despite continuing to claim that his 2015 pardons remained valid – issued new pardons to the pair.

He has now done the same for Krzysztof B. and Grzegorz P., whose jail sentences had been delayed until now due to their health condition, according to TVN.

President Andrzej Duda has announced a pardon for two former government ministers who were jailed for abuse of power.

However, he continues to insist his previous attempt to pardon the pair in 2015 was valid should have been respected https://t.co/iPguek5cjs

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 23, 2024

The president’s decision was quickly criticised and mocked by figures from Poland’s current ruling coalition. “Before we know it, he will be ready to pardon the whole of PiS,” wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk on social media.

“Will Grzegorz P., who has just been pardoned by President Duda, also be included on PiS’s European [electoral] lists?” asked Dariusz Joński, an MP from Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party.

That was a reference to the decision announced this week by PiS that Kamiński and Wąsik would be named as candidates in June’s European elections.

On Monday this week, Tusk’s government also announced plans to abolish the CBA, which it said had been used by PiS for political purposes.

Poland’s opposition PiS party has named two politicians convicted of abusing their powers as candidates for June’s European elections.

The pair were in December handed jail terms and bans on holding public office but later received presidential pardons https://t.co/ihNA3IFmqq

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 25, 2024

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Jakub Szymczyk/KPRP

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.