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NBP President Summoned to Prosecutor's Office. „He Has Other Duties”
Adam Glapiński, the President of the National Bank of Poland, was summoned to the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw to serve as a witness. Although he was scheduled to testify on July 8, the spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, announced that Glapiński would not attend the Tuesday hearing.
„The President of the National Bank of Poland was meant to be questioned as a witness on Tuesday, July 8. However, he sent us a letter proposing three alternative dates, stating that he had prior commitments on Tuesday,” Skiba explained.
RMF FM was the first to report on Glapiński’s summons to the prosecutor’s office last Friday. We verified this information with the District Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba informed tvn24.pl that this matter pertains to an investigation regarding the disclosure on September 8, 2023, by a member of the Monetary Policy Council in the Radio Lublin studio to unauthorized individuals of classified information marked with the „secret” designation, relating to the proceedings of the confidential portion of the MPC meeting.
The notification regarding this case was submitted by one of the members of the Monetary Policy Council.
Prosecutor at the National Bank of Poland
On June 12 of this year, the central bank disclosed that a prosecutor, accompanied by law enforcement, had requested and seized documents related to the Monetary Policy Council as part of an investigation. According to the bank, these actions were not in line with established standards.
The following day, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw released a statement addressing the situation. It indicated that the proceedings were initiated following the court’s annulment of a prior decision that had refused to commence an investigation.
„Throughout the proceedings, the prosecutor-referee made two requests to the National Bank of Poland to provide documentation necessary for establishing the factual circumstances. The NBP twice declined to supply the requested documentation,” the prosecutor’s office reported, adding that on June 12, „the prosecutor, in accordance with Article 217 paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, formally seized the requested documentation at the headquarters of the National Bank of Poland.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, the documentation was released voluntarily, with „none of the NBP employees raising any objections to the minutes or questioning the appropriateness, justification, or legality of this action.” The prosecutor’s office’s efforts were not intended to disrupt the operations of the bank.
„This position is not supported by applicable legal provisions”
The investigators also noted that in previous correspondence denying the release of the requested documentation, the director of the NBP legal department indicated that some of the documents in question were subject to the „restricted” secrecy designation, while others were considered professional secrecy. He additionally sought a decision to unseal these documents.
„This stance is not backed by relevant legal provisions because, per Article 225 paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, bank employees were required to provide documents requested by the prosecutor, even if they contained classified information or other legally protected secrets,” the prosecutor’s office stated.
In their view, „only after obtaining the documentation and evaluating its relevance as evidence in criminal proceedings can the question of a potential exemption from the confidentiality of classified information or information related to professional duties be addressed.”
„Regardless of the above, the prosecutor is entitled to request the presentation of files and documents, including those covered by the confidentiality clause, if the protection of the rule of law necessitates such action (Article 69 of the Act of 28 January 2016 – The Law on the Prosecutor’s Office), and it should be noted that the documentation obtained during procedural activities was no longer subject to the confidentiality clause at the time of the request for its release,” the prosecutor’s office informed.
NBP on the actions of the prosecutor’s office
The National Bank of Poland, in a statement dated June 12, asserted that it is a „transparent institution operating within the framework of the law.” It further stated that „all requested documents had been prepared and would be made available in the appropriate form and manner.”
„The action taken by the Prosecutor’s Office was deemed: inadequate to its purpose and nature, inconsistent with the principles of procedural economy, and not aligned with the established procedure standards in similar cases,” the NBP emphasized, announcing that it would inform the European Central Bank regarding this matter.
The Polish central bank noted that the documents that were seized are „subject to legally protected secrets related to the work of the Monetary Policy Council.”
