– Political theatre. The authorities are making games because they can't do anything else – Ryszard Czarnecki said to the media two days ago after he and his wife were arrested. On Thursday evening, the former MEP from Law and Justice and the former vice-president of the Polish Volleyball Association were charged in connection with the scandal concerning fake diplomas at Collegium Humanum.
There is a statement from the prosecutor's office regarding Czarnecki. He heard two charges
The first accusation concerns a number of irregularities that occurred during the obtaining of diplomas by Czarnecki's wife, Emilia H., the acceptance of financial benefits from Rector Paweł Cz. and the establishment of a foreign branch.
“The prosecutor brought two charges against Ryszard Cz. The first concerns the suspect's invoking influence in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between April 2019 and October 2023 and demanding and then accepting from the rector of Collegium Humanum – Paweł Cz. a financial benefit in the total amount of not less than PLN 92,221 and a personal benefit in the form of Emilia H. obtaining unreliable documents confirming the completion of postgraduate studies at this university. In return, the suspect undertook to act as an intermediary in arranging positive decisions, assessments and opinions for the university, including consent to establish a foreign branch (an offence under Article 228 § 4 and 1 of the Penal Code, Article 230 § 1 of the Penal Code and others)” – we read in the statement of the National Prosecutor's Office.
The second one is related to “taking actions that could have prevented or significantly hindered the determination of the criminal origin of means of payment in the amount of PLN 92,221”. The partner of the former vice-president of the Polish Volunteer Football Association was charged with identical charges due to suspicions of cooperating with her husband in the described crimes. Emilia H. was supposed to obtain certificates of completion of postgraduate studies Executive Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration and Master of Laws (LLM), but the problem is that these are only fictitious documents, because the accused allegedly did not complete any of the programs of the mentioned studies.
It was also added that the suspects have the option of leaving custody through property bond. The bail for the PIS politician is PLN 150,000, while for his wife it is PLN 50,000. The couple faces up to 10 years in prison. There are 47 people involved in the whole affair, around whom the investigation is ongoing. At the moment, Ryszard Czarnecki and Emilia H. do not admit guilt. The prosecutor also decided on police supervision, which is combined with a ban on contact with individual participants in the entire proceedings.