As many as seven of the eight charges heard on Tuesday by Zbigniew Jagiełło (he agreed to give his name and surname) concern abuse of trust when concluding employment contracts and agreements on the termination of employment contracts with seven identified bank employees on behalf of PKO BP SA.
There is an indictment against the former president of the PKO BP bank
The former president of PKO BP is suspected of granting severance pay and other monetary benefits that had no economic or legal justification, causing material damage to PKO BP's property amounting to PLN 3.2 million.
The eighth charge brought by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Lublin concerns “the failure, in the period from September 2016 to June 2017, to take actions aimed at enforcing the use of holiday leaves by 7 Members of the Management Board of PKO BP SA and his own vacation before the termination of employment relations,” the Prosecutor's Office says in a statement.
Because of the unused holiday leave PKO BP had to pay cash equivalents in the amount of PLN 1.7 million – of which as much as PLN 756,000. PLN was paid to the president himself. This corresponded to 70 days of unused leave.
Zbigniew Jagiełło pleaded not guilty. Great property security
“When questioned as a suspect, Zbigniew Jagiełło did not admit to committing the acts he was accused of. Initially, he exercised his right to refuse to provide explanations, and in June 2024, he submitted explanations, the content of which, in principle, repeated the position presented by PKO BP SA in its response “in response to the Supreme Audit Office's post-audit reservations,” informs the Prosecutor's Office in Lublin.
A bail of PLN 500,000 was granted to the former president of PKO BP. PLN and secured “against the obligation to repair the damage in the total amount of PLN 4,921,144 and the suspect facing a fine of PLN 500,000 by establishing compulsory mortgages on three of his real estate“. The defense attorney of the former president of PKO filed an appeal against this decision, but the court upheld it.
“The crimes charged in the indictment in points 1-7 are punishable by a penalty of 6 months to 8 years of imprisonment, and the crime of point 8 is punishable by a penalty of 1 to 10 years of imprisonment,” the press release emphasized.
Former president of PKO BP bank: A bizarre accusation
Already in February, Zbigniew Jagiełło issued a statement in which he commented on the allegations against him and agreed to provide his full name and surname. The statement he sent to “Rzeczpospolita” is published below:
“Various services for several years PIS' they were looking for hooks against me, according to the Stalinist principle, give me a man and I will find a paragraph.
Finally, on January 19, 2024, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Lublin, after over 4 years of investigation, issued a decision to present me with a bizarre accusation that I did not take proper care of the bank's property interests and admitted, according to Prosecutor unjustified additional remuneration when terminating employment contracts by mutual consent for 8 bank employees in 2011–2017.
He also accuses me of paying these and other employees compensation for unused holidays!
According to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Lublin, this is a crime under Art. 296 pairs 3 of the Penal Code (causing large-scale property damage).
I assume that in other proceedings concerning actions to the detriment of a bank conducted/conducted by this Prosecutor's Office, no other 'hook' was found against me, hence this bizarre accusation, which I completely reject and will defend my good name and the reputation of PKO Bank Polski. .