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EU prosecutors seek to strip Polish MP of immunity in tram corruption case

05.05.2026 16:50
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has asked Poland's parliament to lift the immunity of a serving MP as part of a corruption investigation into an EU-funded tram project in the southern Silesia region.
A tram in the southern Polish city of Bytom, part of the Metropolis GZM network.
A tram in the southern Polish city of Bytom, part of the Metropolis GZM network.Photo: elot360 (Eryk Duński), CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

EPPO Chief Prosecutor Laura Kovesi sent the request to the Polish lower house on Tuesday, officials said, but did not name the MP.

Unconfirmed media reports suggest it concerns Wojciech Król, deputy chairman of the Civic Coalition parliamentary group and head of the National Media Council.

The investigation centres on the modernisation of the tram network in Metropolis GZM –  a grouping of 41 municipalities around Katowice in southern Poland – a project receiving PLN 1.9 billion (EUR 450 million) in EU funding.

Prosecutors allege that from 2021 a suspect passed confidential information to a favoured company to help it secure contracts, with bribes paid in exchange for approving inflated costs or fictitious work.

Evidence indicates that in several instances the MP also received financial benefits.

Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) said the total value of bribes estimated in the case stands at nearly PLN 2.7 million (EUR 640,000).

Over EUR 1 million in cash, documents and storage devices have been seized.

A senior official arrested in December 2025 remains in pre-trial detention; six more people have been charged.

Government spokesman Adam Szłapka called the request routine.

"This is a normal process – the result of Poland's decision to join the EPPO. We need to get used to such cases," he said.

Daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that Król declined to comment, saying he did not know who the request concerned.

(ał)

Source: PAP, onet.pl