Fugitive Polish politician Romanowski reportedly hiding in pro-Russian Transnistria

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A letter sent to Polish prosecutors by Marcin Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister who fled criminal charges in Poland, suggests that he is residing in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova that has close links with Russia.

The Polish authorities have been trying to locate and extradite Romanowski, whose whereabouts have been unknown since he fled Budapest in May after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had granted him asylum, lost power.

Były wiceminister sprawiedliwości ma przebywać w Tyraspolu, stolicy zbuntowanej mołdawskiej prowincji znajdującej się pod patronatem Rosji. Spod tego adresu w Naddniestrzu polityk PiS miał wystąpić o wydanie listu żelaznego. https://t.co/m05dtQv3KV

— Rzeczpospolita (@rzeczpospolita) August 12, 2026

On Wednesday, following media reports that Romanowski had sent a letter to the Polish authorities from Transnistria, a spokeswoman for Warsaw’s district court, which is responsible for extradition matters, confirmed to news website Gazeta.pl that this was the case.

“The letter and envelope indicate that the package was sent to the court from Tiraspol in Transnistria,” said judge Anna Ptaszek. “It bears his handwritten signature.”

Przemysław Nowak, the spokesman for Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office, also confirmed to broadcaster RMF that Romanowski had sent the letter, in which he indicated that he was residing in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, and requested safe passage to Poland.

The fugitive politician said that he would be willing to appear in court or before prosecutors, on the condition that he was not placed in detention, said Nowak, who added that prosecutors had not yet taken a position on Romanowski’s request.

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Transnistria is a region of eastern Moldova, bordering Ukraine, that sought to become a separate state in the early 1990s, even fighting a war between 1990 and 1992. Today, the territory, which has a population of around 360,000, operates as a de facto state but is not recognised by any other country.

Transnistria has close ties with Russia, which maintains a military “peacekeeping” force there. The territory’s flag and national emblem feature the Soviet hammer and sickle.

Romanowski’s apparent presence in the Russian-linked territory was condemned by figures from Poland’s government. “I would say that Romanowski is now very likely under the influence of Russian intelligence,” said deputy defence minister Cezary Tomczyk, quoted by broadcaster TVN.

Paweł Wojtunik, the former head of Poland’s Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA), who previously worked in Moldova, wrote that “it is impossible to enter [Transnistria], let alone to live there, without the consent of the local KGB, which is directly managed by the Russian GRU and FSB [intelligence agences]”.

– Dzisiaj powiedziałbym, że Romanowski z dużym prawdopodobieństwem jest pod wpływem rosyjskich służb – ocenił wiceszef MON Cezary Tomczyk. Sprawę skomentował też szef MSZ Radosław Sikorski. https://t.co/LuWw0bkh2j

— tvn24 (@tvn24) August 12, 2026

Even a deputy leader of Romanowski’s own party, the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), was unwilling to defend him.

In an interview with Polsat News, Przemysław Czarnek noted that it is still not confirmed that Romanowski is in Transnistria. But he agreed, when asked by the host, that it “would be crossing a line” for Romanowski to be in the territory.

Romanowski served as a deputy justice minister in the former PiS government between 2019 and 2023. He remains a member of parliament, despite having fled Poland in December 2024 after prosecutors sought to bring charges against him for 11 alleged crimes , including participating in an organised criminal group.

Those alleged offences relate to Romanowski’s time at the justice ministry, which was then led by Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also wanted on multiple charges . Both Romanowski and Ziobro obtained asylum in Hungary when the country was led by PiS-ally Orbán.

The Polish government says that Hungary has revoked the refugee status and travel documents granted to fugitive ex-justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro by Viktor Orbán.

Poland will now seek Ziobro's deportation from the US, where he fled after leaving Hungary https://t.co/TcVw0AiEMX

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 2, 2026

However, after Orbán lost power earlier this year, Ziobro fled to the United States , where he remains. Last month, Poland requested his extradition , though that is a process that could take years. Romanowski, meanwhile, disappeared completely, leading to months of speculation as to his whereabouts.

Both politicians have denied the allegations against them and have claimed to be victims of “political revenge” by the current government, a more liberal coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk that took power in December 2023.

They have argued that they would not be able to receive a fair trial in Poland while Tusk remains in power because of the government’s influence over the judicial system.

On Wednesday, Romanowski’s lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, confirmed that his client had requested safe passage to Poland and that he was “outside the territory of the European Union”. However, he did not confirm that Romanowski is in Transnistria.

Poland has formally asked the US to detain and extradite former justice minister @ZiobroPL , who faces multiple criminal charges.

He denies wrongdoing and calls the case political revenge https://t.co/BXdQgWm61q

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 27, 2026

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.



Main image credit: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości (under CC BY-SA 4.0 )