In accordance with the procedures laid down by the EPPO Regulation and the Polish national law, the European Chief Prosecutor submitted to the Polish Parliament (Sejm) a second request to lift the immunity of an active Member of Parliament, in order to bring criminal proceedings against him and to authorise his detention and pre-trial detention, for suspected trading in influence in an investigation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Katowice. Two other suspects were arrested during searches carried out last week.

In the course of the ongoing investigation linked to the EU funded modernisation of tram infrastructure in the Upper Silesian-Zaglebie Metropolis, an additional set of suspicions emerged concerning this active Member of Parliament. The alleged new facts concern trading in influence and the acceptance of financial benefits in exchange for arranging favourable outcomes for several companies. On 21 July 2026, searches were carried out by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne) in private residences and company premises. Two individuals suspected of offering financial benefits to the Member of Parliament were arrested. The competent court ordered their pre-trial detention for three months.

For the EPPO to be able to establish all the facts in the ongoing investigation, while searching for inculpatory as well as exculpatory evidence, the European Chief Prosecutor has sent a new, additional request, in accordance with Article 29 of the EPPO Regulation, to lift the immunity of this Member of Parliament. This second request is a necessary procedural step to be able to bring proceedings for the additional set of alleged facts.

All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Polish courts of law.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.