Law and Order Submits Bill on Zondacrypto Scandal as Kaczyński Attacks Government

Jarosław Kaczyński says Poland needs an expert body rather than another parliamentary inquiry to examine the Zondacrypto scandal. The Law and Order leader presented a bill creating a 15-member Public Trust Commission made up of specialists rather than politicians.

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We are dealing with something that is a constant practice of this team, this government, this formation that rules today: it is involved in the matter itself, and on the other hand it tries to shift it onto others.

Kaczyński sharply criticized the government and lawyer and lawmaker Roman Giertych, accusing the authorities of moving too slowly and shifting responsibility for irregularities in the cryptocurrency market onto political opponents. He compared Zondacrypto with the Amber Gold case, arguing that state authorities had known about the alleged abuse for months but failed to warn people who might lose money.

He also attacked the pace of the prosecution’s work, saying the prosecutor assigned to the investigation went on holiday and that the case was delayed again. Kaczyński criticized Giertych for representing what he called the fraudsters rather than the people who had been deceived.

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This case, or more precisely the fact that we are dealing here with abuse on a large scale, was known for a long time, just as in the case of Amber Gold. Now too, they knew, at least since December, it seems even earlier, and nothing was done.

The opposition leader rejected a conventional parliamentary investigative commission, citing what he described as a lack of objectivity in commissions created earlier in the parliamentary term. He alleged that members had been removed from hearings for asking uncomfortable questions and that speakers had been denied the floor.

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The prosecutor assigned to this investigation went on holiday and the case was delayed again.

Under the proposed alternative, the Public Trust Commission would have powers similar to those of the body that investigated Warsaw’s reprivatization scandal. It could question witnesses, summon them with police assistance, refer applications to prosecutors and work toward compensation for injured investors. Kaczyński said the bill’s handling would serve as a test of the political class’s intentions.

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That is why we believe our proposal, a Public Trust Commission made up of experts rather than politicians, is a much better solution.