Major Shake-Up in Poland’s Anti-Corruption Bureau Brings Police Bureau Veterans to Key Posts

Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau is undergoing a major personnel restructuring, bringing in experienced officers from the Central Police Investigation Bureau without threatening the position of current chief Tomasz Strzelczyk.

Major Personnel Changes in the CBA

Major personnel changes are currently being prepared within the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. According to findings by Radio ZET, the most important operational positions are to be filled by experienced officers from the Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBŚP). One of the reasons for the reorganization is reportedly the situation revealed in connection with the Warsaw South Hospital case. However, the leadership of the services does not plan to dismiss current CBA head Tomasz Strzelczyk.

The changes will primarily affect the division responsible for conducting key operational and investigative activities. As established by Radio ZET investigative journalist Mariusz Gierszewski, a group of CBŚP officers with years of experience in tackling organized crime is set to move to the CBA. Some of them are scheduled to take over management positions in the coming weeks.

Leadership Shifts in the Operational and Investigative Department

The most important change is expected to concern the CBA Operational and Investigative Department, one of the Bureau’s key units. According to Radio ZET information, its director is to be Inspector Łukasz Fołta, the current deputy commander of the CBŚP. Antoni Czeluśniak, the current director of the department, is to remain within the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, albeit in a different position.

The reorganization is expected to be broader. According to the broadcaster’s informant, a change is also anticipated in the position of the head of the Warsaw CBA delegation, as well as in a number of department head positions at the headquarters. These positions are to be assumed by officers originating from the CBŚP.

Strengthening Ties Between the CBA and CBŚP

The transfer of officers would not be an entirely new direction. The first significant personnel move took place before the summer. On June 24, 2026, Prime Minister Donald Tusk appointed Cezary Luba to the position of deputy head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. The act of appointment was presented by the Minister Coordinator of Special Services, Tomasz Siemoniak. Previously, Cezary Luba headed the Central Police Investigation Bureau.

Cezary Luba has years of police experience. He began his service in 1992. In 2005, he became the deputy head of the department dealing with the fight against organized drug crime in the Central Police Investigation Bureau of the National Police Headquarters. He also worked within the framework of the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo. From 2024 to 2026, he was the commander of the CBŚP.

According to Radio ZET sources, it is Cezary Luba who is to play a significant role in preparing the personnel changes within the CBA. Such a direction would mean strengthening the Bureau with officers possessing experience not only in classic corruption proceedings but also in multi-threaded cases concerning economic crime and organized crime groups.

The personnel connection between both formations is also visible in the case of Łukasz Fołta. During the June handover of duties of the CBŚP commander, he was officially mentioned by the Police as one of the deputy commanders of that formation. According to Radio ZET findings, he is now to receive one of the most important positions in the CBA structure.

Investigations Involving the Warsaw South Hospital

In the background of the planned reorganization appears the case of the Warsaw South Hospital. A Radio ZET informant claims that after its revelation inside the services, the need arose to personnel-wise strengthen the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. According to the broadcaster, the CBA had previously possessed operational information concerning possible irregularities at the facility.

However, this does not mean that all personnel actions can be directly reduced to a single proceeding. Official information shows that the CBA is currently conducting much broader activities related to the healthcare sector.

On July 9, 2026, Bureau officers, upon the orders of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, secured documentation as part of an investigation concerning the Warsaw South Hospital. Activities were conducted, among others, at the hospital, the Warsaw City Hall, and other units related to the case.

A few weeks later, CBA activities covered further facilities. On July 28, officers of the Bureau’s Warsaw delegation carried out searches in six hospitals in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. This proceeding is conducted under the supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Sieradz and concerns, among other things, public procurement and possible acceptance of financial benefits.

According to the CBA, investigators are checking events from the years 2020–2021. The correctness of spending funds transferred by the local government unit for the education and raising of qualifications of persons practicing medical professions is also being verified. By the end of July, three people were detained and presented with charges. The Bureau described the proceeding as multi-threaded and developmental.

Broader Legal Proceedings and NIK Audit Findings

The very situation surrounding the Warsaw South Hospital has a much broader dimension than the CBA’s actions. The prosecutor’s office is conducting proceedings covering various aspects of the facility’s functioning.

One of the investigations concerns suspicion of fraud exceeding half a million zlotys. The second covers the possibility of exceeding powers or failing to fulfill duties by a public official. The prosecutor’s office also analyzed the manner of admitting patients to the hospital emergency ward and documenting working time.

The scale of the proceeding is substantial. The spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, Prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, informed on July 23 in an interview with the Polish Press Agency that it may be necessary to question about 200 witnesses. At that moment, nearly 40 people had been questioned.

A separate investigation concerns documentation in the morgue of the Warsaw South Hospital. The Warsaw-Ursynów District Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the matter of forging death certificates of 20 people. This concerns documents drawn up between August 22 and September 9, 2025. According to prosecutor’s information, the stamp of the morgue coordinator was allegedly used on the cards, and the documents were signed by an unauthorized person.

Problems concerning the facility were also included in the results of an audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). NIK examined the activity of the Warsaw South Hospital in the years 2022–2025, starting the audit on its own initiative in September 2025.

The Office pointed out irregularities concerning, among other things, hospital management, work organization, settlement of services financed by the National Health Fund, and the use of the facility’s premises. The scale of organizational problems is shown by data concerning working time. According to NIK, one of the doctors worked 304 hours and 30 minutes in a month, while one of the nurses worked 249 hours. After finishing the audit, NIK directed 11 post-audit motions to the hospital.

Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesperson for the Minister Coordinator of Special Services, asked by Radio ZET about the reorganization, pointed to earlier statements by Tomasz Siemoniak. The Minister Coordinator of Special Services announced for September a package of changes described as “depoliticizing the CBA.”

At the same time, Jacek Dobrzyński assured Radio ZET that the planned shake-ups do not mean the dismissal of Central Anti-Corruption Bureau head Tomasz Strzelczyk. Strzelczyk has headed the CBA since April 9, 2025. According to statutory rules, the head of the Bureau is appointed by the prime minister for a four-year term after obtaining required opinions.

If Radio ZET’s information regarding further nominations is confirmed, the changes will therefore concern primarily the operational support staff and the management of individual CBA units, rather than the head of the service himself. At the same time, the number of people previously associated with the CBŚP in the Bureau’s management structures will increase.