Prosecutor's office: wanted PiS MP Marcin Romanowski could be in one of EU countries

"We have obtained information suggesting that (Romanowski - ed.) crossed the border and is currently in one of the EU countries ," Przemysław Nowak, spokesperson for the National Prosecutor's Office, said on Wednesday. "This suspicion was enough for us to submit a request to the court for the issuance of the EAW," he added.

On Wednesday, the National Prosecutor's Office submitted a request for a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against Romanowski to the Warsaw District Court, in connection with an investigation concerning the Justice Fund.

The spokesperson for the National Prosecutor's Office, justifying this decision during a briefing, emphasized that the nationwide search, initiated on December 12, had been unsuccessful, and the whereabouts of Romanowski in the country could not be determined.

Last week, the court for Warsaw's Mokotów district decided to place Marcin Romanowski in a three-month detention. The MP did not appear at the court session. On December 12, the prosecutor handling the investigation issued a wanted notice for the MP, who is under investigation in connection with the Justice Fund case.

According to the statement: "The findings of the Warsaw Police Headquarters indicate that the suspect may be outside the country, most likely in one of the European Union countries. In light of these findings, the prosecutor today filed a request with the Warsaw District Court for the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant for Marcin Romanowski."

According to Article 607a of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if there is a suspicion that a person sought may be in a member state of the European Union, the competent district court, at the prosecutor's request, may issue a European Arrest Warrant.

"Due to the ongoing search activities, at this stage, we are not providing further information about the suspected person's likely whereabouts," authorities stated.

The National Prosecutor's Office added that the day before, the prosecutor had filed a request with the National Interpol Bureau in Warsaw, under the Polish National Police Headquarters, to initiate international search efforts for Marcin Romanowski (a so-called Red Notice from Interpol), along with a request for the publication of an Interpol Red Notice.

"The Polish National Police Headquarters has forwarded the request to the General Secretariat of Interpol in Lyon. After approval, the notice will be published in the Interpol database and will be accessible to all member countries. A Red Notice is an alert that a person is sought by the authorities of one of the Interpol member countries and includes a request for their location and detention," it read.

Prosecutor Korneluk also confirmed the information about the EAW earlier on Wednesday in a conversation with TVN24 reporter Katarzyna Rogala. "Today, a request will be submitted to the court for the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant for MP Marcin Romanowski. In addition, yesterday, the prosecutor's office filed a request for the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice. All of this is to make the search for Marcin Romanowski easier, even outside the borders of our country," the reporter from TVN24 explained that morning.

She added that "investigators say that Romanowski is most likely no longer in the country."

At the same time, prosecutor Korneluk stated on Trójka that the prosecutor's office currently has no evidence to bring charges against former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro in connection with the Justice Fund case.

According to the prosecutor's office, Marcin Romanowski discharged himself from a medical facility on December 6, where he underwent a planned medical procedure. Since that day, the MP's phones, registered under his personal details, have been switched off. His whereabouts are unknown.