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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.
An MP from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s party, the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), has been detained by anti-corruption officers after parliament approved a request from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to lift his legal immunity.
It is the first time in history that the EPPO, which Tusk’s government signed Poland up to in one of its first actions after taking power in 2023, has taken action against a sitting Polish member of parliament.
Poseł Wojciech Król został doprowadzony do biura Prokuratury Europejskiej w Katowicach. Śledczy zamierzają przedstawić mu zarzuty dotyczące przestępstw korupcyjnych i przesłuchać. https://t.co/AknEyHwIHL
— PolsatNews.pl (@PolsatNewsPL) September 18, 2026
The MP in question, Wojciech Król, is accused of trading in influence in relation to the EU-funded modernisation of tram infrastructure in the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, an agglomeration of municipalities in southern Poland that includes Katowice, a major city.
The EPPO says it has found evidence of “a system of corruption” that involved inflated costs and fictitious work on the project, for which 1.9 billion zloty (€435 million) of EU funds were designated.
Its investigation found that, as part of this system, a member of parliament – not named directly by the EPPO but who is known to be Król – had “accepted financial benefits in exchange for arranging favourable outcomes for several companies”.
Polish news website Interia reports that the EPPO suspects Król of accepting over 1.4 million zloty in bribes. The MP has publicly denied the accusation.
Eleven other people have already been charged in relation to the alleged corruption scheme, reports broadcaster TVN. They include senior executives from a municipal tram operator.
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In May, the EPPO submitted a first request to Poland’s parliament to lift the immunity that Król enjoys as an MP and bring him into detention. At the time, Król was deputy head of KO’s caucus in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, but he has since lost that position and been suspended from the caucus entirely.
In late July, a majority of MPs in the Sejm approved the lifting of Król’s immunity to face prosecution. However, at the same time, they rejected the EPPO’s request for Król to be taken into detention, after MPs from the ruling coalition voted against it.
The same week those votes took place, the EPPO issued a second request, outlining additional evidence and suspicions regarding Król’s alleged involvement in corruption.
On Thursday this week, the Sejm voted almost unanimously in favour of that second request, again lifting Król’s immunity to face further charges but this time also approving his detention. A few hours later, officers from Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) arrested Król in Warsaw.
Po południu decyzja Sejmu, wieczorem działanie służb. Tak działa państwo prawa, w którym legitymacja poselska i barwy partyjne nie dają żadnego immunitetu od odpowiedzialności karnej. Nie ma świętych krów! https://t.co/7DpmV7q4RF
— Waldemar Żurek (@w_zurek) September 17, 2026
“This is how a state of law operates, in which parliamentary credentials and party colors offer no immunity from criminal liability,” wrote justice minister Waldemar Żurek on social media. “There are no sacred cows.”
A Polish prosecutor delegated to the EPPO, Agnieszka Marcińczyk, told the Sejm this week that bringing Król into detention was necessary to prevent potential obstruction of the proceedings against him.
She also said that Król had not complied with some of the preventative measures imposed on him after his immunity was previously stripped, including failing to post the required bail and to appear at a police station as part of his supervision order, reports news website Wirtualna Polska.
Oświadczenie ws. drugiego wniosku o uchylenie immunitetu
Uprzejmie informuję, że zapał do mojego aresztowania skończy się w grudniu. Do tego czasu będą składane kolejne wnioski o uchylenie immunitetu oraz zgodę na zatrzymanie i aresztowanie.
Przypomnę, że pierwszy wniosek o…
— Wojciech Król (@wojciech_krol) September 11, 2026
The EPPO was established in 2021 in order to investigate and prosecute crimes against the financial interests of the EU. However, under Poland’s former national-conservative, eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) government, the country initially did not join the body.
After Tusk’s more liberal, pro-EU coalition replaced PiS in December 2023, one of its very first actions was to begin the process of joining the EPPO, which was completed in March 2024.
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: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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