Former Polish deputy justice minister acquitted of using company car for private vacation

The accusations

Prosecutors alleged that between 2 June and 28 July 2024 Bartłomiej Ciążyński, then an employee of the state-run Łukasiewicz PORT research network, repeatedly used a company car and fuel card for private purposes. The most prominent instance was a family trip to Slovenia, during which he filled the tank at least eight times with public money. The total loss was put at 4,619.82 złotys (roughly €1,000).

“He was supposed to have driven on holiday, causing losses of over 4.6 thousand złotys.”

Ciążyński, who was also a deputy justice minister at the time the affair broke, resigned from the ministry in August 2024 and later lost his job at Łukasiewicz PORT. The prosecutor charged him with abuse of power and fraud, carrying a possible sentence of one to ten years in prison.

The defence

From the outset Ciążyński insisted he had not been given the employer’s car‑use regulations and was unaware that private use was forbidden. In court he explained that when he collected the vehicle on 9 May 2024 the only instructions he received concerned the technical operation of the fuel card.

“I didn’t even know such a document existed. All my knowledge about the rules for using the company car was given to me in a short conversation with an employee when the car was handed over. I used the car freely, drove my children to school, went shopping, also at weekends.”

He argued that his sole fault was a mistake in the use of his employer’s property, for which he had already apologised and suffered consequences.

The verdict

On 15 June 2026 the District Court in Wrocław Fabryczna acquitted Ciążyński on all counts. The verdict is not final; the prosecution may appeal.

“The court acquitted me of all charges. Full stop.”

The trial began in October 2025. An earlier request by the defence to discontinue proceedings had been refused by the court in the autumn of the preceding year.