The head of the Supreme Audit Office, Marian Banaś, on TVN24 about the visa scandal: a clear, negative assessment

President of the Supreme Audit Office Marian Banaś he spoke in “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24 about the presentation of the Supreme Audit Office's report on the visa scandal scheduled for Thursday. – Unfortunately, the assessment is unambiguous and negative when it comes to the visa issuance period in 2018-2023. Namely, here we were dealing with a process (…) of issuing visas in a non-transparent and corrupt manner – he said.

He explained that “third parties influenced the Secretary of State, through direct or indirect contacts.” The President of the Supreme Audit Office did not want to talk about names.

– I think that in the further actions and proceedings of the prosecutor's office, and unfortunately the prosecutor's office will have to deal with these matters, there will be names – he said. He added that work is underway to prepare a notification to the prosecutor's office.

Banaś went on to say that “intermediaries indicated which people should get a visa quickly.” – The intermediary for this were visa companies – he said. He said that “in the period November 2022 – May 2023, almost 5,000 such visas were issued based – as he said – on the applications of these intermediaries.”

– And here was the role of the Secretary of State, who issued instructions to the consuls so that the consuls would consider favorably (…) decisions regarding the granting of visas, simply in an accelerated manner. Without properly checking who these visas are issued to, without the personal presence of these applicants, he added.

– It must be said that the company that acted as an intermediary in applying for and issuing these visas charged from several dozen thousand to thirty thousand zlotys from a given person. We calculated, based on the explanations of a consul in one of the Asian countries, that this company could have earned PLN 127 million. Of course, it must be clearly stated that this could have been money that could have gone to the state budget, but it went to a private company thanks to such corruption-generating activities of the Secretary of State, who, together with his employees in the ministry, committed such activities that were contrary to Art. 13 of the Act on Consuls (Consular Law – ed.) – continued the president of the Supreme Audit Office.

In Banaś's opinion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs “neglected proper supervision and control over what was happening during the entire visa issuance process.” He explained that the practice of illegally granting visas consisted in the intermediary putting pressure on the deputy minister, and the deputy minister putting pressure on the consuls to issue visas. – He (deputy minister – ed.) came with a list of people for whom he wanted visas issued in an expedited manner. This was all handled by employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is unacceptable, corruption-related and we will prepare a notification to the prosecutor's office in this case – assured the head of the Supreme Audit Office.

Marian Banaś also said that “in the period when the war in Ukraine had already started, about 1,800 visas were issued for IT specialists from Russia and Belarus without any specific check.” – This poses a threat to state security, because we really do not know exactly where these IT specialists were employed – whether they are in Poland or possibly in the European Union – said the guest of “Fakty po Faktach”.

As the head of the Supreme Audit Office said, “in the years 2018-2023, 6 million 200 thousand visas were issued – almost 3.5 million to citizens of Ukraine, 1.5 million to citizens of Belarus and almost half a million to citizens of the Russian Federation. The rest are people from Asia and Africa, ( …) who purchased these visas through intermediaries.”

– This constitutes a definite threat to the state, but also economic losses, because this money should be included in the budget, not private companies – added Banaś. He announced that the details would be presented at Thursday's conference.

Marian Banaś was also asked about the report of the Supreme Audit Office on the merger of Orlen with Lotos. NIK draws attention to the “abnormally low price for the sale of Grupa Lotos' assets – at least PLN 5 billion below the estimated value.”

Read more: NIK published a report on the merger of Orlen and Lotos. “Excessively low sales price”

– We were not allowed into Orlen. We did not work on Orlen's documents, but on documents of the Ministry of State Assets and other ministries. These documents clearly showed that the value of the sale of assets owned by Orlen had been underestimated by almost PLN 5 billion. In April this year, we started another inspection. This time we were allowed into Orlen and the Gdańsk Refinery. We are now investigating the details of this case. There are a lot of documents, unfortunately in English, making inspection quite difficult. We expect this inspection to be completed by the end of the year, he said.

He added that the Supreme Audit Office had notified the prosecutor's office about not allowing the Supreme Audit Office to enter Orlen's headquarters. – Previously, there was no problem with entering Orlen. There were even requests from Orlen so that we could control certain matters that concerned them. For the last two or three years, when we wanted to undertake this inspection, we were not allowed to enter. Everything was done to make it happen Supreme Audit Office did not reach the documents that are in Orlen – said the head of the Supreme Audit Office.

In March, the Supreme Audit Office presented the results of the audit regarding purchase of personal protective equipment in connection with counteracting COVID-19. They show that the Chancellery of the Prime Minister spent nearly PLN 200 million uneconomically, unreliably and unintentionally on the purchase of personal protective equipment in 2020-2021.

Banaś reported in “Facts after Facts” that PLN 10 billion was used for expired vaccines. – The vaccines were purchased, no one predicted that so many vaccines would be needed – he said.

– We submitted over 136 notifications to the prosecutor's office. We expect the prosecutor's office to actually deal with these cases. Under the previous team, virtually all proceedings were discontinued in cases where there was clear evidence of criminal activities. If the previous prosecutors continue to deal with these cases, in my opinion nothing will come of it. Therefore, it is the task of the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Justice and the National Prosecutor's Office to verify who deals with these matters, said Banaś. He added that, according to his information, “some matters are still handled by the same people.”

The head of the Supreme Audit Office also referred to activities related to the flood in Poland.

– Thanks to our inspections, a retention reservoir was created in Racibórz, which has now saved the entire Opole and Wrocław. If it weren't for our inspections, this reservoir might not have been built at all, because there were various protests. (…). On the other hand, there were delays because (construction was completed – editor) in 2021, and the plan was for it to be finished in 2014, he said.

He added that the Supreme Audit Office's audit also showed that “a 7-kilometer section of the embankments is made of inappropriate materials.” – After this inspection, repairs were carried out, this section was dismantled and made of appropriate materials. Thanks to this, Opole and Wrocław were saved – said the guest of “Fakty po Faktach”.

According to Banaś, delays also occurred in the areas through which the Nysa Kłodzka flows. – There were four investments that were supposed to be put into operation in December 2023, but unfortunately their completion date was postponed to June 2025. In addition, four further investments that were supposed to protect this entire area were abandoned, he admitted.

– We all bear the consequences of these negligence. We will have to help these people from our budget and that is absolutely advisable, but it could have been avoided – added Banaś.

Banaś was asked whether he would run for the position of president of the Supreme Audit Office again when his term ends in August 2025.

“It's not up to me to decide,” he replied. To the comment that the decision depended on him, he replied that “I will decide if the MPs want it.”

– I don't rule it out. I have a lot of experience, my achievements speak for themselves, what has happened over the last five years. I think that this House has achieved enormous progress, the effects that prove its work – he added.

He was asked about reports that he was trying to cement the Supreme Audit Office in case he was not re-elected. The host of the program, Piotr Kraśko, noted that most of the heads of the Chamber's delegations are people “performing duties”. Now, competitions for these positions have begun to be organized, and the person chosen would hold the office for five years.

– I will explain myself – said the guest of “Fakty po Faktach”. – During this last period, these five years, I only realized who actually has the effects and is suitable for it – he argued. – I think that, first of all, we need to ensure that we properly evaluate people and put in positions those who perform the tasks best and do their job as well as possible. If there are no such mechanisms, let's simply not count on the results of the work, especially of the Supreme Audit Office, which stands above all political systems, he continued.

Banaś also commented on the matter reportage “Panzer Marian and rooms by the hour” about his property and the activities conducted in his tenement house. The reportage was broadcast in 2019 in the “Superwizjer” TVN program. In 2021, the prosecutor's office reported that “intends to bring several dozen charges against the president of the Supreme Audit Office, including providing untruths in asset declarations and tax returns“.

According to Kraśko, when asked about the fate of the case, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Białystok told us on October 9 that the proceedings regarding the president of the Supreme Audit Office and other persons are still at the evidentiary stage. Therefore, the TVN24 guest was asked whether he would waive his immunity if the prosecutor's office wanted to bring charges against him.

In response, Banaś pointed out that prosecutors from the National Prosecutor's Office analyzed the materials which – as he said – “the CBA and the prosecutor's office of that period had been collecting practically for five or six years” and “it turns out that they have no grounds to bring charges.” – This material was returned and it speaks for itself. The case seems to be pointless, he said.

In response to the comment that the prosecutor's office informs that the case is at the evidentiary stage, so the prosecutor's office is dealing with the case, Banaś asked: for five or six years?

According to him, in this case the officers “assembled evidence based on false evidence.” – So they forced some people to submit false evidence. I have these statements. I notified the prosecutor's office about a crime committed by both prosecutors and officers CBAbut also the Minister of Interior and Administration (Mariusz) Kamiński. I expect and I am convinced that the matter will be taken up, he added.