Polish Marshal Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty faces controversy over his relationship with a Russian art dealer linked to Kremlin-controlled institutions.
Gazeta Polska Reports on Czarzasty’s Relationship with Russian Woman
At the end of January, “Gazeta Polska” reported that Marshal of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty had not undergone verification by the ABW when he was a member of the Sejm committee for special services. “If he had done so, the services would have had to thoroughly investigate the relationship between Włodzimierz Czarzasty and his wife with a Russian woman trading in art, employed in an auction house linked to Russia’s largest bank controlled by the Kremlin.” “The woman also holds shares in a hotel company whose vice president is Małgorzata Czarzasty. Both she and her husband Włodzimierz Czarzasty are shareholders of the majority shareholder of this entity,” the article reads. The woman, who also holds a Polish passport, was also a co-author of books published by the Muza publishing house.
Czarzasty: “I Consider the Matter Closed”
“Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Włodzimierz Czarzasty, under counterintelligence protection from Polish special services, has access to information with the highest security classification. The special services have no reservations in this area and unconditionally comply with applicable regulations,” said Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the minister coordinating special services, last week. “It has been established that there is nothing inappropriate in my contacts, I consider this matter closed,” commented Włodzimierz Czarzasty on Tuesday. The opposition, however, points out that the marshal gained access to secret information automatically, as marshal, and previously as an MP refused to fill out a security questionnaire.
New Information About the Russian Woman
“Rzeczpospolita” points out that the auction house where the Russian citizen works also sells property of the Russian Federation, possibly belonging to the FSB. There are calls to consider placing the Russian woman on the sanctions list. “There is an obvious suspicion that we are dealing with a person who operates in institutions that must be linked to the Russian state,” commented Stanisław Żaryn, former deputy minister coordinating special services under the PiS government. “The case must definitely be investigated in terms of the ownership structure of the company owned by the Russian woman and financial flows. And only on the basis of such an analytical assessment is a decision made to include a person or entity on the sanctions list,” he added. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration refused to provide information whether the head of the ABW had requested the Russian woman’s inclusion on such a list.
Gen. Materka: “Thorough Verification is Impossible”
Former head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, General Maciej Materka, assessed in an interview with “Rz” that since Włodzimierz Czarzasty already has access to secret information as marshal, “his full, thorough verification under the Act on the Protection of Classified Information is impossible.” “There remains only the explanation of all these threads within the framework of the unwidely understood counterintelligence protection. However, this has limited possibilities for investigating the marshal’s environment, i.e., persons and businesses associated with the controversial Russian woman. It does not provide as complete information about a person as a security questionnaire and a properly conducted verification procedure,” added the expert.
