Collegium Humanum Case Draws Five More Lawmakers Into Investigation

The Collegium Humanum investigation has reached further into Poland’s political class, with prosecutors seeking to lift the immunity of five politicians. The group includes Szymon Hołownia, Michał Kobosko, former deputy agriculture minister Michał Kołodziejczak and former Subcarpathian governor Ewa Leniart, according to reports cited by Rzeczpospolita.

The requests were submitted to the National Prosecutor’s Office by a prosecutor from the Silesian branch of the National Prosecutor’s Department for Organized Crime and Corruption. The case concerns the scandal surrounding Collegium Humanum, a university accused of involvement in a mechanism for obtaining diplomas at unusual speed.

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comprehensively handle the matter

The allegations involving Kołodziejczak concern a degree in management. Goniec previously reported, citing confidential sources, that he used an intermediary, Bernard K., who promised to handle the matter comprehensively. Kołodziejczak allegedly signed an agreement on January 15, 2024, and appeared on the student list on February 7.

According to the account, Bernard K. brought the documents to the university and instructed an employee to enter Kołodziejczak and two other people into the electronic Sokrates system. All three allegedly received permission for an individual course of study and were expected to obtain bachelor’s degrees within months. The report said staff were told to enter grades for their supposed thesis defenses without conducting the normal process.

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that he did not buy any diploma

Bernard K. allegedly told prosecutors that he submitted Kołodziejczak’s documents and received 5,000 zlotys from the politician as the first tuition installment. Kołodziejczak publicly denied buying a diploma. He said he had accepted an offer of an individual study programme, obtained the diploma after passing an examination and never used it. He resigned as deputy agriculture minister one week after the report appeared.

The request involving Leniart stems from corruption allegations against Iwona O., head of Rymanów Health Resort, which prosecutors have linked to a broader chain of events surrounding Collegium Humanum. The provided account does not state the outcome of the immunity requests.

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received an offer of an individual course of study at Collegium Humanum, and the diploma he obtained, as he claimed, was earned after passing an examination and he never used it