- By Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC News
September 16, 2023
Updated 2 hours ago
Image source: Getty Images
image description,
Tomasz Grodzki said the scandal threatened Poland’s international reputation (file photo)
The speaker of Poland’s upper house of parliament has called on the government to reveal what it knows about an escalating cash-for-visas scandal.
Tomasz Grodzki said the problem was ruining the country’s international reputation as a responsible democracy.
The government has released few details, but media reports said migrants paid up to $5,000 (£4,000) each to speed up the process of applying for a work visa.
Seven people have been charged so far, but none of them are officials.
The country’s deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk, was fired last week following the allegations.
His dismissal came on the same day that Poland’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) conducted a search of the Foreign Ministry. The head of the legal service was also fired.
The ministry, which is facing an audit over the scandal, said it would terminate all contracts with outsourcing companies that have processed visa applications since 2011.
Opposition MPs said up to 250,000 visas for people from Asia and Africa were issued irregularly by outsourcing companies.
The government disagreed with that number, saying only a few hundred had been issued.
“If you want to go to Poland from Africa, go to our embassy, buy a stamped visa at a special stand, enter your details and off you go! PiS.” [governing party] Migration policy,” wrote Donald Tusk, the leader of the opposition party Civic Platform, on X (formerly Twitter).
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused Mr Tusk of trying to stir up problems for his ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and denied it was a widespread problem.
“This case ruins our country’s reputation as a responsible member of the democratic community of the free world and endangers our security, so it must be explained in detail,” Mr Grodzki, speaker of Poland’s upper house, said in a televised address on Friday.
“This is the biggest scandal we have faced in the 21st century. Corruption at the highest levels of government poses a direct threat to us all.”
Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro later said in an interview with state news channel TVP Info that Mr. Grodzki had exaggerated the scale of the problem.
The CBA said it first became aware of the matter in July 2022 and has been working to review it since then.
The scandal threatens to tarnish PiS’s anti-immigrant stance ahead of parliamentary elections due in a month.
PiS is seeking an unprecedented third term in office and although it is currently leading in polls, it is unclear whether it can win the absolute majority it needs to govern.