National Prosecutor's Office: five investigations into Smolensk subcommittee

The investigative team tasked with examining irregularities in the functioning of the Smolensk subcommittee (2016-2023) was established in the National Prosecutor's Office on November 8. The team, which consists of six prosecutors, is led by Colonel Tomasz Mackiewicz, director of the Department of Military Affairs at the National Prosecutor's Office. The team’s work is overseen by Chief Prosecutor, Dariusz Korneluk.

The first task of the team was to examine 41 notifications submitted to the National Prosecutor's Office on October 25, 2024, by Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk, concerning potential crimes related to the activities of the subcommittee.

After completing a preliminary investigation, as reported by the spokesperson of the National Prosecutor's Office, Prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, on November 18, the investigative team initiated five investigations. According to Nowak, "decisions to open investigations indicates that there is a reasonable suspicion of criminal offenses."

In total, the five investigations have been opened in relation to 21 offenses, most of which are classified under Article 231, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Penal Code, concerning abuse of power or failure to perform duties. According to unofficial information obtained by PAP, this includes investigations into former Minister of National Defense and former head of the Smolensk subcommittee, Antoni Macierewicz.

The first investigation was initiated regarding 11 offenses, including "disclosure of classified information to unauthorized individuals, exceeding powers and failure to perform duties by public officials, including the Minister of National Defense and the chairman of the subcommittee, document forgery, and false certification in documents."

The second investigation was opened in relation to two offenses concerning "failure to supervise and control the proper use of financial resources and public spending in connection with the functioning of the subcommittee, as well as the improper, unnecessary, and inefficient expenditure of those funds."

The third investigation was launched in relation to four offenses concerning the exceeding of powers and failure to perform duties by the chairman of the subcommittee, the Minister of National Defense, and other officials, including the disclosure of classified information marked "top secret" and "secret" to unauthorized individuals, as well as improper processing, production, and storage of materials containing classified information.

The fourth investigation concerns three offenses related to the failure to perform official duties and obstructing the main criminal investigation by the National Prosecutor's Office into the Smolensk disaster, including the failure to provide materials from the aviation accident investigation at the request of the prosecutor, as well as the removal of documents that the identified individuals were not authorized to dispose of.

The fifth investigation pertains to an offense involving the failure to perform duties by the Minister of National Defense, specifically the failure to take action to prevent the destruction of the Tu-154M aircraft No. 102 (the twin of the Tu-154M No. 101 aircraft that crashed in Smolensk on April 10, 2010), and facilitating the destruction of the mentioned aircraft, which was property of great value, by members of the subcommittee.

On October 24, the Ministry of National Defense presented a report on the work of the Smolensk subcommittee. The report revealed that the subcommittee cost the state over 81 million zlotys. Following its activities, 41 notifications regarding possible criminal offenses were submitted to the prosecutor’s office, including 24 concerning Macierewicz and 10 concerning former Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak.