Poland charges 11 suspects over 22.5 million zloty university residency fraud

New charges in university investigation

On 29 September 2026, officers from the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) and the Border Guard detained 11 individuals on instructions from the Silesian branch of the National Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors announced charges on 1 October 2026 concerning an offshoot of the broader Collegium Humanum investigation. Two suspects were charged with founding and leading an organized criminal group, while the remaining nine face charges of participating in the group. Five suspects were released under preventive measures, including financial sureties between 10,000 and 30,000 zlotys, police supervision, travel bans with passport confiscation, and bans from participating in examination boards. Prosecutors submitted motions to the court seeking temporary arrest for the remaining six suspects.

Prosecutor Katarzyna Calów-Jaszewska described the roles of the detained individuals.

Among the suspects are persons linked to private universities, two of whom managed a foreign branch of the former Collegium Humanum university. The prosecutor presented two suspects with charges of founding and leading an organized criminal group, while the others were charged with participation in an organized criminal group.

Diploma scheme and foreign residency fraud

Investigators established that the criminal group operated between the start of 2017 and at least 24 September 2026. The network generated false academic histories and bachelor's and master's diplomas in exchange for bribes, without requiring recipients to attend classes, take exams, or submit theses. Suspects obtained over 850,000 zlotys in illicit gains from counterfeit diplomas alone. The institutions also issued fraudulent student status and employment certificates used to facilitate residency legalization for foreign nationals. Investigators determined that the residency operation generated over 22.5 million zlotys in illegal benefits, involving at least 200 foreigners from countries including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, India, and China. Suspects also face money laundering charges for transferring illicit proceeds into accounts of entities under their control.

Detention of Mateusz Piskorski and political ties

Among the 11 individuals detained in the operation was Mateusz Piskorski, a politician from Szczecin. Piskorski previously served as a member of parliament and spokesman for Samoobrona before founding the pro-Russian party Zmiana in 2015. He was arrested in May 2016 on charges of espionage for Russian and Chinese intelligence, before being released on 200,000 zlotys bail in May 2019, with his trial still ongoing before the Warsaw District Court. Piskorski currently collaborates with parliamentarian Grzegorz Braun, who in January 2026 offered him the lead position on the Confederation of the Polish Crown candidate list for the 2027 parliamentary elections.

Scope of the wider prosecution

The case is part of an extensive inquiry into Collegium Humanum, an institution established in Warsaw in 2018. Across the entire investigation, prosecutors have brought 881 charges against 97 suspects, with 13 individuals placed in temporary custody and assets exceeding 176 million zlotys and 600,000 euros secured. In the branch addressing counterfeit MBA, bachelor's, and master's degrees, 83 suspects face 475 charges. Former rector Paweł Cz. faces accusations of taking repeated bribes to issue falsified credentials alongside university staff and public officials. One week earlier, the Warsaw District Court issued the first sentences in the case, handing six former rectors and vice-rectors of private universities one-year suspended prison terms and fines.