CENTRAL ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAU Dishonest Notaries Detained - News

On 24 March 2026, officers from the Regional Office of the CBA in Łódź detained three individuals —  two women and one man— in Warsaw and its surrounding areas. As part of the operation, the notaries’ workplaces were searched and evidence was secured in the form of extensive documentation related to the disbursement of notarial deposits.

Abuse of Authority by Public Officials

Officers from the Regional Office of the CBA in Łódź are conducting a multi-threaded preparatory investigation into, among other things, the illegal activities of an organized criminal group. The group is suspected of tax fraud involving VAT and civil law transaction tax, siphoning off funds and real estate from companies, and money laundering. The primary objective of the group was to unlawfully acquire funds, real estate, and other assets from entities at risk of bankruptcy. These assets were then allegedly transferred to companies controlled by the leader of the criminal group. The total amount involved in the criminal activity is estimated at approximately PLN 200 million.

One of the threads of the investigation concerns the concealment of financial assets by notaries linked to members of the aforementioned organized criminal group. According to investigators, the detained individuals, acting through their notarial offices, exceeded their authority by accepting funds in the form of notarial deposits. These deposits were not connected to any notarial act. The purpose of these actions was to conceal funds from creditors. The money was then unlawfully transferred to the personal bank accounts of the notaries or other unauthorized individuals in order to obtain financial gain for both the detained persons and the depositors. In total, in 2016 and in the years 2019–2020, the suspects carried out unauthorized notarial activities amounting to tens of millions of zlotys.

Charges and Preventive Measures

The detainees were transported to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Łódź, where they were charged with abuse of authority by public officials for financial gain.

The prosecutor imposed preventive measures on the suspects, including bail and a ban on leaving the country. The passports of two of the suspects were also confiscated.

The Case is Ongoing

This is the second operation carried out in the course of the investigation. So far, a total of 18 individuals have been charged. The case remains ongoing.

CBA Press Team