Money from the Justice Fund (FS) was supposed to support victims of crime and their families and to address the root causes of crime.
Adam Bodnar, Poland's new justice minister and prosecutor general,
established an investigative team at the National Prosecutor's Office in late January to scrutinize how the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government spent money from the FS.
The Justice Ministry tasked the team with examining the fund’s proper management and its compliance with the law and its intended purpose.
On Tuesday, on the instructions of prosecutors investigating the use of finances from the FS, searches took place in various parts of the country, including the home of the former head of the Ministry of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro.
President Andrzej Duda was asked on Wednesday how he perceived the actions of the prosecutor's office.
“I think that lawlessness will be punished sooner or later, so wherever there is lawlessness, those who commit lawlessness must reckon with the legal consequences, which will come sooner or later,” Andrzej Duda said.
“I assume—common sense tells me so—that if someone, whether from the services or the prosecutor's office, allows themselves to take such actions against MPs, against people who have held very important public functions for years, I assume that they have grounds for doing so, and society will be able to see those grounds which, in their opinion, entitle them to such action. Because if they don’t, then I think criminal responsibility is inevitable,” the president added.
Justice minister on the investigation
“As far as I know, everything has been done in accordance with the procedures,” Justice Minister Adam Bodnar said on Wednesday when asked about the searches.
He assessed that the focus should be on the substance of the case. He explained that there has been “high mismanagement when it comes to the functioning of the Justice Fund.”
“These actions that are being taken are the result of the deeper investigative activities,” he declared.
