KARR president and supervisory board dismissed over 4.5 million zł flood aid scandal in Lower Silesia

The scandal

Wirtualna Polska reported that 4.5 million zł in flood relief distributed by the Karkonoska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego (KARR) went to three entities from a single area near Jelenia Góra, despite four independent sources ruling out flood damage. According to FAKT24.pl, the recipients included companies belonging to the husband of vice-president Anna Konieczyńska, a neighbor's businesses, and a local television station. Konieczyńska was a Civic Coalition (KO) activist.

Dismissals

On Tuesday 11 August, the provincial board dismissed Konieczyńska from her vice-president role, citing moral and ethical concerns. On Thursday 13 August, KO councillors in the regional assembly passed a resolution demanding the removal of KARR president Hubert Papaj and the entire supervisory board. The resolution reached the provincial board through wicemarszałek Bochnak, which accepted the position and on Friday 14 August dismissed both Papaj and the supervisory board. Spokesperson Michał Nowakowski stated the decision was made in the interest of transparency of KARR's operations.

KO councillors said in their statement that Konieczyńska's dismissal was an insufficient step and that they would wait for an independent external audit to establish the full scale of possible irregularities and responsibility for them.

New leadership

Dr hab. Marek Leśniak, a professor at the University of Wrocław who heads the Department of Commercial and Economic Law at the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics, was appointed chair of the new supervisory board and delegated to perform the duties of KARR president. The new board, composed of individuals with legal and ownership-supervisory experience assembled over recent days, will conduct an audit and cooperate with the prosecutor's office, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), the Ministry of Development and Technology, and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. A competition for a permanent president will be announced after all inspections conclude. The provincial board said it is waiting for the results of the inspections conducted by authorized institutions.

Investigations

Jelenia Góra prosecutors began proceedings on Monday 10 August regarding possible irregularities in flood aid distribution. The CBA has been conducting an audit at KARR since April. The Ministry of Development and Technology has also launched its own oversight proceedings. KARR stated it is fully cooperating with state authorities.

Political fallout

Seven unaffiliated councillors, previously associated with PiS and now linked to Mateusz Morawiecki's association, announced a motion to dismiss Lower Silesian marshal Paweł Gancarz of the Polish People's Party (PSL), accusing the provincial board of reacting too slowly. The motion requires signatures from one-quarter of the 36-member assembly, meaning nine votes. The initiators currently lack two signatures.

KO, which holds the largest club in the assembly and has two representatives in the provincial board, lacks a majority there. KO leader in Lower Silesia and deputy development minister Michał Jaros told Gazeta Wrocławska the dismissals showed the coalition's effectiveness.

To pokazuje sprawczość Koalicji Obywatelskiej i to, że presja ma sens.