Ryszard Czarnecki and his wife have been charged as part of the proceedings in the Collegium Humanum case – TVN24 reporter Małgorzata Marczok has unofficially learned.
Former PiS MEP Ryszard Czarnecki was detained at Chopin Airport on Wednesday by the Central Anticorruption Bureau. as part of the proceedings in the Collegium Humanum case. His wife was also arrested in Warsaw in this case. They both stayed in the prosecutor's office in Katowice until late Wednesday night, where the investigation is being conducted. According to Czarnecki, this “political theater” of the current government.
On Thursday morning, TVN24 reporter Małgorzata Marczok unofficially learned that both have already heard the charges. According to reports, there are several of them. The couple's interrogations will continue.
Richard Czarnecki PAP/Michał Meissner
Investigators' suspicions
As established by tvn24.pl investigative journalist Robert Zieliński,The arrest of the PiS politician is related to his wife's work for the Collegium Humanum university. Investigators suspect that she did not provide any real services, and in this way the rector paid for the services of an influential politician.
Zieliński said on TVN24 that “the prosecutor's office is almost certain that employing the wife was a form of bribe for the MP himself.”
We asked Ryszard Czarnecki himself about what Emilia H. did at the university. – My wife is a legal adviser by profession, please direct your questions to her – he told us. We sent questions about her job, dates, and salary to her email address in early June. She sent us the answers on her behalf. attorney-at-law Magdalena Czech from the Dubois and Partners law firm.
“Ms. Emilia H. completed postgraduate studies at three universities: Collegium Civitas, the Higher School of Commerce and Law, and Collegium Humanum. She obtained an MBA diploma at Collegium Humanum as part of her professional development in 2020” – this was the email we received in response.
The Collegium Humanum Affair
In March 2023, along with the detention of two people by the CBA on suspicion of accepting material and personal benefits, the Collegium Humanum scandal broke out regarding the trading of diplomas by this non-public university.
The university was founded in 2018 in Warsaw. According to media reports, it offered crash courses that allowed one to earn an MBA diploma. Such diplomas allow one to apply for positions on supervisory boards of state-owned companies.
The credibility of documents issued by Collegium Humanum was supposed to be ensured by foreign universities, but it turned out that they did not have the authority to conduct MBA studies. Among the graduates of Collegium Humanum were politicians, presidents and members of the boards of state-owned companies, officers of special services and military commanders.
Main image source: Michal Meissner/PAP