A criminal complaint has been filed against Pastor Ryszard L. According to prosecutors, the former parish priest from Warsaw allegedly seized fictitious donations for religious worship purposes amounting to 18.4 million PLN. This is not the only charge levied against the clergyman.
Criminal Complaint Against Pastor Ryszard L.
In a Tuesday briefing, prosecutor Mateusz Martyniuk, spokesperson for the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office, announced that Pastor Ryszard L., the former priest of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Faustina in Warsaw, was accused of accepting fictitious donations for religious worship from 2019 to 2023 totaling over 18.4 million PLN, and fictitious charitable donations exceeding 1 million PLN. The Prosecutor’s Office also accuses him of misleading tax authorities about the amount of personal income tax owed, resulting in an underpayment of almost 6 million PLN. “By aiding the commission of the described crimes, the accused obtained a material benefit of nearly 2 million PLN,” the statement reads.
Fictitious Donations
The Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office, in cooperation with the Central Office for Combating Corruption in Rzeszów, determined that the perpetrators made donations to the parish account of St. Faustina in Warsaw in amounts close to the legally defined limit of 6 % of income. After transferring the funds to the parish, the accused allegedly moved them to his private account. He then withdrew cash, deducted a so‑called “commission,” and returned the remaining 90 % of the originally donated sum to the donors.
43 Individuals Accused
The Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office charged 43 individuals in this case and seized assets worth 4.3 million PLN. “Because of the actions of the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office and law‑enforcement authorities, a large number of alleged donors filed tax corrections and paid overdue personal income tax liabilities,” the prosecutor explained.