Polish industrialist Enea’s foundation financed a historic sword for radio host Tadeusz Rydzyk, distributed thousands of grant checks to local groups before the 2023 elections, sparking a prosecutor’s inquiry.
Financial Scale of Enea Foundation 2023
In 2023 the foundation disbursed over 20 million PLN in charitable donations, the largest grants given between August and October.
The foundation entered 712 financial grant contracts and two in‑kind agreements worth more than 15.6 million PLN, with over 40 % earmarked for culture, art, heritage protection, and promotion of human rights and democracy.
Grants to Rural Women’s Clubs and Volunteer Firefighters
Prior to the 2023 parliamentary elections it awarded grants to rural women’s clubs and volunteer fire brigades. In early September, a vice‑minister of development and PiS MP Grzegorz Piechowiak gave checks bearing the foundation’s logo in Obraz, Greater Poland.
An October ceremony in the same voivodeship showed photos of cardboard checks presented to OSP units, overseen by board member Joanna Mularczyk and Minister Zbigniew Hoffmann.
Sword Presented to Tadeusz Rydzyk
In July 2023 the foundation funded the purchase of a sword alleged to date from Mieszko I’s era, presented to radio host Tadeusz Rydzyk during the 32nd Radio Maryja family pilgrimage in Częstochowa.
The sword, about a thousand years old and believed to be from Central Europe, was donated by the foundation, with a 280 k PLN payment from the Enea Foundation to the Identity Foundation, and was subsequently housed in the Museum of Memory and Identity in Torun.
Audit and Prosecutorial Investigation
In November 2022, Enea SA’s press officer announced an internal audit of the foundation focused on the legality of spending and monitoring of transferred funds. The audit, completed early 2023, led Enea to file two complaints alleging irregularities in grant disbursement and in the spending of recipients.
The Poznań regional prosecutor’s office now investigates the foundation for potentially significant financial damage caused by board members’ abuse or neglect of duties, examining whether the board failed to report the use of 15.5 million PLN received by 645 recipients.
Allegations of Misallocated Funding
Prosecutors claim the foundation granted financial assistance in 2023 to entities that did not carry out the objectives described in their applications. The investigation also scrutinises possible criminal acts by board members of certain Enea SA subsidiaries during funding decisions.
In February 2023 Enea SA announced the foundation’s liquidation, which began on 5 August; attempts to contact former president Łukasz Nowakowski have not succeeded.
