Former Deputy Minister of Justice of Poland Marcin Romanowski is wanted
A warrant for apprehension has been issued for Marcin Romanowski, the ex-Deputy Minister of Justice in Poland.
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office has commenced a pursuit of Marcin Romanowski, who faces a three-month detention order as a person of interest in the Justice Foundation matter.
Marcin Romanowski’s last online activity was on December 6th, and he is not utilizing the phone number registered under his private information.
Specialized police officers have scoured locations where Marcin Romanowski might be present.
The judicial order is connected to the continuing probe into improprieties concerning the allocation of finances from the Justice Fund.
«On Thursday, the prosecutor released an arrest directive for Marcin Romanowski, upon whom the court imposed a three-month imprisonment», — conveyed PK press representative Przemyslaw Nowak.
According to him, the PiS representative has not used the internet since December 6, and does not utilize any number linked to his personal specifics.
On Monday, the Warsaw-Mokotów District Court decreed a three-month custody for PiS MP and previous Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski, suspected in the Justice Foundation inquiry. Romanowski was absent from the session due to health concerns, as stated by his attorney Bartosz Lewandowski. He further mentioned that Romanovsky underwent “significant surgery.”
The Warsaw Metropolitan Police, entrusted with apprehending the parliamentarian to adhere to the court’s judgment, submitted a request to the National Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday morning for the issuance of an arrest authorization for the parliamentarian. Spokesman for the Department of Interior and Administration Jacek Dobrzyński expressed that the former vice minister is evading capture, thus a warrant for detention is required.
According to the press liaison of the National Prosecution Service, prosecutor Przemyslaw Nowak, prosecutor Piotr Woźniak, in charge of investigating discrepancies in the disbursement of funds in the Justice Fund, initiated a manhunt for deputy Romanowski with an authorization for detainment.
«This is possibly the first instance in Poland where a representative of the present Sejm, a previous deputy justice minister, is being sought with an apprehension warrant», — he appended, while also mentioning that this search technique broadens the array of options available to law enforcement to execute these searches.
Novak stated that since Tuesday morning, law enforcement inspected addresses where he might reside in order to take the parliamentarian into custody. Currently, Romanovsky’s location remains unknown. Furthermore, the outcomes of questioning individuals regarding the whereabouts of the former deputy minister also yielded no results.
Novak added that on December 4, Romanovsky visited a medical institution for a scheduled procedure, “which, according to the court, was not essential.” On December 6, the parliamentarian voluntarily relinquished his position. Since that date, Novak indicated, the deputy has not accessed the internet, his mobile devices have been powered off, and he is not using numbers registered under his private details.
“This also indicated that the suspect was deliberately avoiding capture,” – Novak remarked.
The PC representative conveyed that current details from the prosecutor’s bureau do not suggest that the parliamentarian has departed the country. Concurrently, he appended that upon the initial intelligence verifying the act of traveling overseas, the prosecutor will petition the court to issue a European arrest decree. «Contingent on the information» it will also be viable to communicate with Interpol to initiate a search with a red notice.
He elaborated that steps are being implemented to verify if Romanovsky has left the country, which is also taken into account. In his opinion, such a request can be submitted at any moment, but for this it is requisite to furnish the court with evidence that renders such a scenario likely.
Nowak underscored that henceforth, «harboring suspect Marcin Romanowski or providing any assistance in his concealment could result in legal repercussions». The prosecutor’s department, as the PC spokesperson communicated, presently does not suspect anyone of aiding the former deputy minister in circumventing justice.
The court’s determination to detain the PiS deputy is tied to an extensive inquiry that has been in progress since February of this year. National Prosecution Authority investigation into misuse of Justice Fund assets. The prosecutor’s unit requested Romanovsky’s detention stemming from a well-founded concern of deception and impeding the inquiry, as well as a tangible prospect of significant retribution against him – reaching up to 25 years of incarceration.
The National Prosecutor’s Office accuses Romanovsky – MP representing the PiS party, who, as a figure from Solidar Poland (and subsequently Sovereign Poland) spanning 2019-2023, held the role of deputy head of the Ministry of Justice responsible for overseeing the Justice Fund – of committing 11 offenses, including: involvement in a structured criminal ring and orchestrating competitions for funds from this particular fund. These offenses encompassed, amongst other elements: «directing subordinate employees of entities that should secure victories in competitions for Justice Fund grants».
The politician purportedly also mandated the rectification of flawed proposals prior to their submission and sanctioned the allocation of grants to subjects who did not fulfill the formal and material requirements.
The allegations against Romanovsky also pertain to the misappropriation of assets entrusted to a suspect in the form of monetary funds exceeding 107 million zlotys and endeavors to misappropriate funds totaling over 58 million zlotys».