Katarzyna Karpa-Świderek, director of the Sejm Media Services Office, announced that on Tuesday the Presidium of the Sejm would deal with the issue of renunciation of the status of a professional MP by Marcin Romanowski. The PiS politician fled to Hungary. He is a suspect in the Justice Fund investigation. An arrest warrant and a European Arrest Warrant were issued for him.
The suspect in the investigation regarding the Justice Fund was the former deputy head of the Ministry of Justice, PiS MP Marcin Romanowski, who received political asylum in… Hungaryannounced on Thursday that he had “renounced his status as a professional MP” and would therefore not receive parliamentary remuneration.
However, as Katarzyna Karpa-Świderek, director of the Sejm Media Services Office, said, the Chancellery of the Sejm does not confirm that documents from Romanowski have been received in this matter.
READ ALSO – Romanowski: I renounced my status as a professional MP and I will not receive remuneration
– The case is unprecedented and the Presidium of the Sejm will probably decide what procedure should be followed before the next session of the House on Tuesday – she said.
Karpa-Świderek confirmed that the Chancellery of the Sejm had ordered opinions from lawyers on whether an MP who received political asylum in another country could exercise his mandate as an MP from there, but stressed that their content was not public.
In mid-December, the Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia said that he had instructed the head of the Chancellery of the Sejm and the legal services to determine “how as soon as possible” to stop paying Romanowski's remuneration.
The government coalition wants changes to the law
On December 31, a group of MPs: KO, Polski 2050-TD and PSL-TD submitted a draft amendment to the Act on holding the mandate of MP and Senator, which assumes that a parliamentarian who has been subject to a provisional arrest decision will be deprived of the right to remuneration.
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As a consequence, a suspected parliamentarian – according to the project – will not be able to carry out field activities (including the right to intervene or the right to information). He will also not be able to “use social and living rights, such as the right to a salary or a parliamentary allowance.”
According to the information on the Sejm website, the parliamentary salary is currently PLN 12,000. PLN 826 64 gr. gross, and the parliamentary allowance (money to cover expenses incurred in connection with the performance of the mandate in the country) – PLN 4,000. PLN 8 and 33 gr. gross. In addition, MPs can receive a lump sum for running a parliamentary office, which amounts to PLN 22,000. PLN 200 per month.
Romanowski with allegations
The investigation of the National Prosecutor's Office regarding the Justice Fund has been ongoing since February 2024. This procedure covers several topics, including: regarding the abuse of powers and failure to fulfill duties by the Minister of Justice and ministry officials who were responsible for money from the fund.
In the case of Romanowski, who in the years 2019-2023 was the deputy head of the Ministry of Justice supervising the Justice Fund, the prosecutor's office accuses him of committing 11 crimes, including: participation in an organized criminal group and arranging competitions for money from this fund.
Marcin RomanowskiPaweł Supernak/PAP
Romanowski's crimes were to include, among others: “by indicating to subordinate employees entities that should win competitions for subsidies from the Justice Fund.”
The politician also allegedly ordered corrections of erroneous offers before submitting them and allowed grants to be awarded to entities that did not meet formal and material requirements. The charges also concern the misappropriation of a total of over PLN 107 million and attempted misappropriation of over PLN 58 million.
Main photo source: Paweł Supernak/PAP