Domański told a news conference on Thursday that authorities had launched 177 audits covering the management of public funds under the previous government, of which 135 had been completed.
The audits have examined 167 entities, including 17 government ministries as well as public institutions, foundations and associations, he said.
"The total value of the irregularities identified amounts to PLN 120 billion (EUR 28 billion, USD 32 billion), or around 3 percent of Poland's GDP," Domański said.
He added that the findings had prompted authorities to file 250 notifications with prosecutors about possible criminal offenses. Prosecutors have opened 200 investigations involving a combined value of PLN 106 billion, he said.
"Our notifications concern spending without a legal basis, circumventing the law, mismanagement, but also plain theft," Domański told reporters.
Asked why the value of the cases referred to prosecutors was lower than the total amount of irregularities identified, Domański said not all audit findings had yet been submitted to prosecutors and that some cases did not meet the threshold for criminal proceedings.
Some cases have instead been referred to Poland's public finance discipline authorities, he added.
Deputy Finance Minister Zbigniew Stawicki, who also serves as deputy head of the National Revenue Administration (KAS), said not every irregularity constituted a criminal offense, even if it had harmed public finances.
He argued that many of the violations uncovered by auditors appeared to have been deliberate rather than accidental.
"It is difficult to describe these as mistakes or misinterpretations of the law," Stawicki said.
According to Stawicki, auditors found cases in which documents created the appearance of formal compliance while public money was awarded at the discretion of senior officials, regardless of recommendations made by evaluation committees.
He cited grants worth PLN 202 million awarded by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and PLN 51.5 million distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as examples.
Stawicki also said that more than 100 beneficiaries received a combined PLN 400 million in grants that were used for purposes other than those for which they had been awarded.
Other irregularities included payments made without a legal basis, including improper remuneration at state-owned companies, as well as what he described as politically driven allocation of public subsidies.
He also told the news conference that auditors uncovered falsified bank account statements intended to create the impression that public funds remained in accounts after they had already been withdrawn.
Stawicki said ministries and other public bodies would be able to pursue the recovery of grants that had been paid out improperly or in excess, adding that such efforts were already underway.
He cautioned, however, that economic crime investigations are typically lengthy and complex, with criminal proceedings remaining the responsibility of prosecutors.
Stawicki also announced that the finance ministry was developing a publicly accessible electronic register of public spending intended to improve transparency and strengthen public oversight of government finances.
He declined to give a timeline for completing the system but said the project had moved beyond the planning stage and was being treated as a priority.
(gs)
Source: PAP, IAR