A meeting between the President of the Supreme Audit Office Marian Banaś and the Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek, regarding Central Anti-Corruption Bureau's operation, lasted for an hour. "As the Sejm Speaker, I couldn't have intervened in any way regarding this matter" - Witek said after the Friday's meeting.
At a press conference after the meeting with the NIK chief, Elżbieta Witek said she had examined all documents regarding the searches of real estate owned by Banaś, as well as of his office.
She explained that, according to the constitution, the Act on the NIK, and the Act on Deputies and Senators, the Speaker of the Sejm is allowed to intervene only when personal integrity or an MP or NIK chief has been violated (...) or when they are detained or arrested" - Witek said.
"No such situation has taken place, and therefore I couldn't have intervened in any way" - she added.
No constitution violation
The Sejm Speaker also commented on the documents regarding the prosecutor's office actions, which Banaś had sent her. "In the first document there was an overstatement. The chairman was referring to a supposed opinion of the Sejm Bureau of Research (BAS), which was to suggest that formal immunity covers not only the person, but also certain searched locations. The BAS did not issue such opinion" - she stressed.
"I will strive to preserve respect for immunity in case someone tried to violate it, but in my opinion and the opinion of BAS, the constitution was not infringed upon, and the immunity does not protect places, but persons only" - Elżbieta Witek informed.
She also explained that she was not supervising the services and she has no right to give them orders. Mrs Witek added that the NIK chief told her he would exercise his right to file a complaint against the services conduct in his case.
"I don't see grounds or reasons to summon the Sejm Presidium or the Council of Elders with regard to the situation concerning the NIK chief Marian Banaś" - the Sejm Speaker underscored.
Complaint on "unlawful" action
On Wednesday, at the request of the prosecutor, CBA officers carried out searches at 20 locations, as part of the investigation into alleged irregularities in Marian Banaś' asset and tax declarations. The CBA also entered the seat of the Supreme Audit Office in Warsaw.
The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Białystok has been investigating the NIK chief since December 2019.
On Thursday afternoon, Marian Banaś gave a short statement in front of the NIK headquarters, in which he commented on the said action taken by the Białystok prosecutor's office and the CBA. He called them "unlawful", and said he expected an "immediate meeting with the Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek".
"As the NIK president, I strongly protest against violating constitutional independence of the Supreme Audit Office. I treat the independence of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) as priority and I shall protect it with all legal measures at my disposal" - he announced.
Asked by TVN24 reporters if he planned to file a complaint regarding this case, he confirmed: "There will be a complaint. We will file a complaint against the prosecutor's office and the CBA".
Autorka/Autor: gf
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP