A KAS audit revealed that the Advocata Nostra Foundation, tied to right‑wing activist Robert Bąkiewicz, misappropriated about 840,000 PLN received from the Patriot Fund in 2021‑2022.
KAS Audit of Funds to Advocata Nostra Foundation
tvn24.pl accessed the results of a KAS audit conducted on the Advocata Nostra Foundation. The audit examined two grants totaling 840,000 PLN awarded in 2021‑2022 from a Patriot Fund established during PiS governments.
Under the competition “Freedom in Polish Priority I,” the foundation received 390,000 PLN to produce films about saints in Polish history. In “Freedom in Polish Priority II,” it was allocated 450,000 PLN to establish a Patriot Centre in a property it purchased.
Findings of the National Revenue Administration
KAS determined that money from both grants was spent contrary to its intended purposes and wastefully. The foundation did not create the Patriot Centre in the purchased property and repeatedly violated competition rules and contract terms while producing films.
The audit also showed that the foundation did not conduct statutory activities and listed an incomplete address with the National Court Register, preventing any correspondence. Since adopting its current name in 2019, the foundation had no staff for years, hiring only one employee—a caretaker—in April 2022.
People of Robert Bąkiewicz in Advocata Nostra
Many individuals connected to right‑wing activist Robert Bąkiewicz worked at the foundation. While it received Patriot Fund grants, its chairman was Tomasz Dworzyński, an associate of Bąkiewicz from the National Guard Association. In 2023, Sebastian Sikora, founder of Bąkiewicz’s Rotary March of Independence Association, became chairman, and today Paweł Kryszczak—linked to Bąkiewicz’s Border Defence Movement—heads the organization.
Charges Against Robert Bąkiewicz
Director of the National Institute of Freedom called on Bąkiewicz and his Rotary March of Independence Association to repay over 383,000 PLN. Government spokesman Adam Szlapka said the audit uncovered numerous irregularities, including lack of evidence of services performed, missing payment documentation, and a fictitious office.
The prosecutor’s office brought five charges against Bąkiewicz, the most serious of which could carry up to three years imprisonment. Charges include slander of public officials—including judges and prosecutors—and incitement to hatred on national, ethnic, and racial grounds.