The meeting between PM Morawiecki, Justice Minister Ziobro and the heads of services was called in to discuss the actions taken in regard to the issue of recordings of the former chief of the Financial Oversight Authority (KNF); the prime minister urged the institutions to cooperation aimed at the quickest possible solving of the case, the spokeswoman for the government Joanna Kopcińska informed on Tuesday evening.
The spokeswoman underscored that the Tuesday's meeting of PM Mateusz Morawiecki, justice minister and prosecutor general Zbigniew Ziobro, minister-coordinator of special services Mariusz Kamiński, state public prosecutor Bogdan Święczkowski, chief of Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Ernest Bejda and his deputy Norbert Loba, lasted about 90 minutes.
"The meeting was devoted to discussing current actions taken in reaction to the situation revealed by the media, regarding the recordings involving the (former) chief of the Financial Oversight Authority, Marek Chrzanowski," said Joanna Kopcińska.
"The prime minister has obligated particular institutions to cooperate in order to swiftly investigate the matter from every angle possible. The service will aim to determine the activity of all parties involved, whose actions bear any characteristics of law breaking or abuse of power," added the government's spokesowman.
Bribery attempt allegations
The head of Poland's financial market regulator resigned on Tuesday, the state-run news agency said, hours after he was summoned by the prime minister over newspaper reports he had sought a multi-million dollar bribe from a bank.
The PAP news agency said KNF chief Marek Chrzanowski denied the newspaper reports and quoted him as saying that he was resigning out of "a sense of responsibility for the functioning of regulatory supervision over the financial sector".
Chrzanowski did not immediately reply to requests for comment from Reuters.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki earlier demanded an investigation of reports that Chrzanowski asked Getin Noble Bank to hire a specific lawyer and pay him a salary equal to 1 percent of the bank's capitalisation, around $10.5 million.
In return the mid-tier lender would receive "support" from the regulator, the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and the Financial Times reported, citing a deposition to Polish prosecutors from Getin Noble Bank's owner, Leszek Czarnecki.
Reuters has seen a copy of the deposition.
The prosecutor's office confirmed that a representative of Czarnecki had notified it that he suspected a crime had been committed related to corruption.
Getin Noble Bank declined to comment.
KNF denied any wrongdoing and said information regarding an offer by its chairman to favour Getin Noble Bank in exchange for a payment of around 40 million zloty ($10.5 mln) was not true.
"Such a proposal was not offered during any meeting with Mr Czarnecki," a KNF spokesman said in a statement.
The lawyer named in the deposition, Grzegorz Kowalczyk, said the first he had heard about the allegations was in the media.
"I have never consented to anyone seeking a job for me at Getin. I have never talked to Leszek Czarnecki. I know Marek Chrzanowski privately," he told Reuters.
Chrzanowski, a former central banker, was nominated to his post in 2016 by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has said one of the pillars of its fiscal policy is fighting corruption in value-added tax collection.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, PAP, Reuters