Prosecutor seeks to charge Supreme Audit Office chief

The motion to hold Marian Banaś accountable was justified in a statement issued on Friday by the National Public Prosecutor's Office.

"The prosecutor's office intends to present the NIK chief Marian Banaś with over a dozen of charges, including providing false statements in asset and tax declarations," we read.

Marian Banaś is also said to have coaxed the chief of Kraków Revenue Administration to unlawful disclosure of information relating to a case launched against him by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau and to tax inspection.

The Chancellery of the Sejm on Friday confirmed that the request was submitted at the hands of the speaker of the chamber. Legal team was checking if the motion met formal requirements. If it is approved, it will be referred to the Rules and Deputies' Affairs Committee.

According to the Act on the Supreme Audit Office, the NIK chief - who is appointed by the Sejm and approved by the Senate - cannot be charged or arrested without prior permission from the lower house.

Also on Friday, but before the National Public Prosecutor's Office issued its statement, Marian Banaś informed that his son has been arrested by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) at the Kraków Balice Airport.

In turn, the CBA informed about arresting the chief of Kraków Chamber of Fiscal Administration Tadeusz G., as well as the social advisor to the NIK chief - his son Jakub Banaś. The bureau also said the former would hear six charges, including unlawful disclosure of information, whereas the latter - seven charges, including providing documents containing false information to the tax administration.

In May, Marian Banaś asked prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation against Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other government officials over the organisation of the 2020 presidential election.