Romanowski's letter from Transnistria: fugitive PiS politician seeks safe conduct from pro-Russian breakaway region

Letter from Tiraspol

A document personally signed by Marcin Romanowski, PiS MP and former deputy justice minister, was registered at the Warsaw District Court last week. The letter bears an address in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, a breakaway pro-Russian region of Moldova not recognized internationally. Romanowski requested a "letter of safe conduct" (list żelazny), a guarantee that he would not be placed in temporary arrest while proceedings are ongoing. He pledged to appear in person before judicial authorities on the condition that he would answer the charges from freedom. TVN24 reporter Agata Adamek disclosed that in the same document Romanowski stated he had obtained a passport under a different identity to move freely outside the European Union. The court spokesperson confirmed receiving the filing.

Political reactions

The disclosure, first reported by RMF FM reporter Krzysztof Zasada, drew sharp reactions across the political spectrum. Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the dots connect and assessed that Romanowski was, with high probability, under the influence of Russian services. He noted that Romanowski could not hide within the EU, likely chose Serbia first, and then Transnistria, territories where Russian military and civilian intelligence have significant influence.

I really do not believe that in Transnistria, which is largely controlled by Russia, someone like Romanowski, an MP of the Republic, a former deputy justice minister, ended up there by chance.

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski commented sarcastically, calling it "another coincidence" and adding that "they get so outraged at being called Kremlin-right." MEP Dariusz Joński of Civic Platform described Romanowski as "Szmydt 2," referencing judge Tomasz Szmydt who fled to Belarus in 2024. Roman Giertych stated that this confirms a large part of PiS is "an outpost of Russian intelligence." PiS MP Andrzej Śliwka took a different view, noting that Moldova's President Sandu is a pro-European democrat and assuming there are diplomatic considerations between Poland and Moldova.

Charges and financial allegations

Romanowski faces 11 charges, including participation in an organized criminal group and rigging grant competitions at the Justice Fund during his tenure as deputy justice minister from 2019 to 2023. Prosecutors allege he ordered corrections to flawed bids before submission and approved grants to entities that did not meet formal requirements. He has consistently denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.

On August 6, the prosecution under Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek rejected a defense motion to partially dismiss the investigation and lift Romanowski's temporary arrest. His lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, argued that some charges overlapped with those against former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, where the District Court had found the probability of committing 7 of 26 charges to be lower. The prosecution maintained that the arrest measure remained justified given the severity of potential penalties and the risk of obstruction, stressing that temporary arrest applies to the suspect in the case as a whole, not separately to each charge.

Flight path

A European Arrest Warrant has been in effect for Romanowski since February 2026. In November 2025, a prosecutor invalidated two of his passports to block his escape beyond the Schengen zone. Hungary granted him international protection in December 2024 despite the pending charges. Earlier reports placed him in Budapest, with subsequent claims on May 11 that he had left for the United States or the Balkans. Meanwhile, Zbigniew Ziobro, the other central figure in the Justice Fund investigation, has been residing in Washington for several months. Romanowski has not publicly addressed the latest reports; his last post on X dates to mid-May, and his Facebook page has carried mainly memes targeting the ruling coalition.