The Polish parliamentary committee investigating the ‘cash-for-visas’ scandal is set to request a court order to detain and compel the former CEO of the nation’s largest state owned fuel company, PKN Orlen to appear before the committee.
Daniel Obajtek, the former CEO, has ignored two consecutive requests from the committee to explain the employment of migrant workers at an Orlen construction site.
Following his failure to attend a parliamentary session on Wednesday, the committee decided to submit a motion to a Warsaw court. They seek an order to detain Obajtek, bring him before the investigative body on Friday, and impose a fine of 3,000 złoty (€ 698).
Committee chair Michał Szczerba stated that Obajtek had been lawfully notified about the hearing.
Obajtek is currently running for the European Parliament (EP) as the top candidate for the former ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), in the south-eastern Podkarpackie province. On Monday, he claimed he was unable to attend the hearing due to campaign commitments.
After the decision to submit a motion to bring him in front of the committee, Obajtek commented on the X platform that “the circus of Michał Szczerba and KO [Civic Coalition – TVP World] is escalating.”
“They want to forcefully take me to the investigative committee. Mr. Szczerba - you said that you are determined and will use all methods and services to bring me to the hearing. (...) But I filed a motion asking for the hearing to be postponed after the campaign, and you still want to turn this case into a circus from taxpayers’ money.”
If elected to the EP, a likely outcome given PiS’s strong support in Podkarpackie, Obajtek would gain immunity from prosecution.
On September 1, 2023, the “cash-for-visa scandal” emerged, implicating high-ranking Polish officials in corruption within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Allegedly, up to 350,000 visas have been illicitly issued since 2021
Following his failure to attend a parliamentary session on Wednesday, the committee decided to submit a motion to a Warsaw court. They seek an order to detain Obajtek, bring him before the investigative body on Friday, and impose a fine of 3,000 złoty (€ 698).
Committee chair Michał Szczerba stated that Obajtek had been lawfully notified about the hearing.
Obajtek is currently running for the European Parliament (EP) as the top candidate for the former ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), in the south-eastern Podkarpackie province. On Monday, he claimed he was unable to attend the hearing due to campaign commitments.
After the decision to submit a motion to bring him in front of the committee, Obajtek commented on the X platform that “the circus of Michał Szczerba and KO [Civic Coalition – TVP World] is escalating.”
“They want to forcefully take me to the investigative committee. Mr. Szczerba - you said that you are determined and will use all methods and services to bring me to the hearing. (...) But I filed a motion asking for the hearing to be postponed after the campaign, and you still want to turn this case into a circus from taxpayers’ money.”
If elected to the EP, a likely outcome given PiS’s strong support in Podkarpackie, Obajtek would gain immunity from prosecution.
On September 1, 2023, the “cash-for-visa scandal” emerged, implicating high-ranking Polish officials in corruption within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Allegedly, up to 350,000 visas have been illicitly issued since 2021
Source: TVP World, PAP
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