Biznes Fakty
The government will prepare a law protecting seniors from fraudsters. Donald Tusk's appeal
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the government, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Senior Policy, would promptly develop legal measures aimed at safeguarding seniors from the increasingly prevalent frauds and scams. „I believe this is the most appropriate response to the significant confusion currently affecting Poland,” he stressed.
In a statement made before the government meeting, the Prime Minister addressed the media frenzy surrounding the situation — which he described as „related to the apartment and the questions regarding the actions of one of the presidential candidates.” He asserted that it is not the government’s responsibility to assess the actions of the candidates in the presidential race, yet this incident serves as a „strong” reminder of the issue that the Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly highlighted.
– This refers to large-scale frauds and scams, where the victims are elderly individuals in precarious financial circumstances who relinquish their apartments in exchange for, for instance, a loan or assistance. They often fall prey to various other forms of fraud, scams, and manipulation, not only from individuals but occasionally from companies as well – he stated.
He requested the Minister of Senior Policy, Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz, to collaborate with the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, in order to jointly prepare „recommendations on how Polish law can effectively shield seniors from fraud and common swindlers,” considering this a highly pressing task.
– I think this is the best answer to the significant confusion currently affecting Poland,” he remarked.
This refers to the incident involving an apartment in Gdańsk, which — as reported by Onet — was acquired by the presidential candidate supported by PiS, Karol Nawrocki, from an elderly man in exchange for providing care; ultimately, however, Jerzy Ż. found himself in a social welfare home. Nawrocki’s team stated in a release that Jerzy Ż. is a neighbor of Nawrocki, whom he had assisted for many years, and that it was he who provided the man with the funds to purchase the apartment, which he promised to transfer to Nawrocki in return for the help he had rendered.
On Tuesday, Nawrocki’s property declaration from 2021 was made public, revealing that he and his wife own two apartments measuring 57 m2 and approximately 30 m2, and that Nawrocki also holds a 50 percent stake in his mother’s apartment.
„He merely aimed to take over the apartment”
During the „Super Express” debate on April 28, Nawrocki asserted his opposition to the cadastral tax and declared he would resist it. He mentioned that he made this statement „on behalf of ordinary Polish men and women, like himself, who possess one apartment.”
Subsequently, Onet reported that, contrary to this assertion, Nawrocki owns two apartments, not just one; besides the apartment in Gdańsk where he resides with his family, he also possesses a studio apartment in Gdańsk that was previously owned by Jerzy Ż. According to Onet, in 2017, the now 80-year-old man transferred his studio apartment to the Nawrockis in exchange for their caretaking. However, Onet’s findings suggest that the elderly man ended up in a state-run Social Welfare Home, with the city of Gdańsk covering his expenses, while the PiS presidential candidate has not contributed financially.
On Tuesday, PiS MP Przemysław Czarnek stated that Nawrocki purchased the apartment from Jerzy Ż., whom he had previously aided, and that there was no agreement between them regarding caretaking.
The spokesperson for the campaign of the PiS-supported candidate, Emilia Wierzbicki, previously stated that Nawrocki had never resided in the apartment, did not rent it out, and did not gain any financial benefit from it. She asserted that he has been paying rent to this day and that the apartment remains owned by Mr. Jerzy. She also noted that „contact with Mr. Jerzy ended in December 2024. (…) Karol Nawrocki attempted to locate him through neighbors and acquaintances, but was unsuccessful.”
On Tuesday, Onet published an interview with Anna Kanigowska, Jerzy Ż.’s social welfare caregiver, who was supposed to assist him from spring 2022 until spring 2023. According to her, „Mr. Jerzy lived in poverty,” „had practically nothing,” and that „without the assistance from MOPR” and the purchases she made, „he would not have had food.” She mentioned that she tried to inquire from Nawrocki why he was not helping the pensioner since he had taken over his apartment in exchange for care, and that she had sent Nawrocki a letter about this. According to Kanigowska, Nawrocki „only aimed to take over the apartment, and then he simply didn’t care.” She added that she had never encountered „such a blatant fraud.”
