Sanok mayor Tomasz Matuszewski charged with corruption and suspended by prosecutors
Prosecutors in Rzeszów charged Sanok mayor Tomasz Matuszewski on 12 October 2026 with offering a councillor a municipal company job for council votes, and suspended him from office. He will appeal the suspension to court.
The charges
On Monday, 12 October 2026, officers of the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) Rzeszów branch detained Sanok mayor Tomasz Matuszewski at his home and took him to the District Prosecutor's Office in Rzeszów. There prosecutors charged him with exceeding his powers and with promising a material or personal benefit to a person performing a public function. The charge was classified under articles 231 § 1, 229 § 1 and 11 § 2 of the Penal Code, and the offence carries six months to eight years in prison. Prosecution spokesman Krzysztof Ciechanowski confirmed the charge on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. The mayor did not admit the offence and gave short explanations, which prosecutors have not disclosed to protect the proceedings.
The alleged offer
According to investigators, the offence took place on 9 January 2025, when Matuszewski made a corrupt proposal to a member of the Sanok City Council. In return for employment in one of the city's municipal companies, the councillor was expected to back the mayor's actions in council votes and to win over a second councillor who would also vote as the suspect wanted. The probe was opened in April 2026, after the CBA and the Rzeszów prosecutors received a notification of a well-founded suspicion of an offence. Nowiny reports that councillor Grzegorz Nogaj filed that notification. Investigators have secured documentation and data carriers that they say may serve as important evidence.
Preventive measures and suspension
Prosecutors imposed a 30,000 zloty property bail, police supervision combined with a ban on contacting a named witness, and a ban on leaving the country. They also suspended the mayor from his duties for as long as the proceedings last. According to Nowiny, he may not enter the city hall or municipal units until the proceedings end. The mayor announced the suspension himself on social media at 23:00 on 12 October, according to the same outlet.
The mayor's response
Matuszewski said he disagrees with the decision and will challenge it in court, and he has asked that the matter be decided on the evidence. He also said that the suspension is out of proportion to the case, and that he would give his lawyer documents he believes will help explain the circumstances.
I do not agree with this decision and I will appeal it to court, the court will assess its validity. The truth must be established on the basis of evidence.
He said the decision was issued just before the referendum scheduled for 15 November 2026, which he described as no coincidence, and he called the measure purely political. Residents will vote in that referendum on whether to recall him before his term ends, a procedure launched by a Sanok City Council resolution of 18 August.
Suspension is not a conviction, although I fear that my political opponents' public message will present it exactly that way.
Timeline and next steps
The sequence runs from the alleged offer in January 2025 through the April 2026 notification to the arrest and suspension on 12 October 2026.
- Alleged job offer made to a Sanok city councillor in exchange for council votes
- CBA and Rzeszów prosecutors receive a notification of a suspected offence and open an investigation
- Mayor detained at home by CBA officers, charged and suspended
- Mayor announces the suspension on social media
- Referendum on recalling the mayor scheduled
The investigation remains with the Rzeszów prosecutors, and the mayor's appeal against the suspension will go before a court. The recall referendum is scheduled for 15 November 2026.
