The priest temporarily arrested
Officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Regional Office in Rzeszów are conducting a preliminary investigation concerning the falsification of information in tax declarations submitted between 2019 and 2023. The investigation also concerns the embezzlement of entrusted funds of significant value, not less than 200,000 PLN, which originated from donations for religious purposes. The investigation also includes the aspect of receiving and transferring funds from 2019 to 2023, derived from benefits related to committing the prohibited act of falsifying information in submitted tax declarations. The investigation is overseen by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw.
Fictitious Donations
On April 16, 2024, officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Delegation in Rzeszów detained a priest from one of the parishes in Warsaw. The collected evidence in the ongoing preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect confirmed the transfer of fictitious donations for religious purposes. Donors, by allegedly making these donations, reduced their payable income tax by the amount of the donation when filing their tax declarations. The findings of the investigation suggest that the loss to the State Treasury caused by the suspect's criminal activities from 2019 to 2023 could exceed 5 million PLN. The officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau secured electronic data carriers and documentation of evidentiary significance. The detainee was brought to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw.
Preventive Measures
The prosecutor overseeing the case submitted a request to the court for the application of a preventive measure in the form of temporary detention for the suspect. The court granted the prosecutor's request and decided on temporary detention for a period of three months. The prosecutor also filed criminal tax charges against 17 individuals who reduced their payable income tax by the amounts of fictitious donations for religious purposes. The prosecutor applied police supervision measures to 14 of these individuals.
The Case is Ongoing
This is the first procedural action in the ongoing preliminary investigation.
CBA Press Team