The PiS politician awarded PZPN PLN 186 million. NIK notifies the prosecutor’s office

The Supreme Audit Office decided to look into the implementation of tasks under the programs of the Ministry of Sport by sports associations. As part of the activities carried out, the activities of Kamil Bortniczuk were also examined when he supervised the work of the ministry. The result of the inspection is: a notification to the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of committing a crime by the former minister of sports during the rule of Law and Justice. It concerns a politician exceeding his powers.

NIK notifies the prosecutor’s office regarding Kamil Bortniczuk

According to information from RMF FM, Kamil Bortniczuk awarded the Polish Football Association over PLN 186 million. The application concerned the construction of the National Football Training, Research and Training Center in Otwock near Warsaw. PZPN activists decided that it would be an ideal candidate for receiving funding from the ministry’s fund for the development of physical culture, as part of an investment program of particular importance for sports. The construction of the center is planned for 2024-2027. The value of the investment was estimated at over PLN 400 million, of which approximately PLN 305 million was to be a subsidy.

But the problem was that the application submitted by the Polish Football Association should be rejected because it did not meet the formal requirements. NIK auditors found that the Polish Football Association did not meet the conditions regarding the right to use the property for construction – it was not the owner of the land, but only its tenant.

Bortniczuk responds to the allegations

At the beginning of 2024, the Minister of Sport and Tourism Sławomir Nitras invalidated Kamil Bortniczuk’s decision. Referring to the activities of the Supreme Audit Office, the politician stated that “This is another version of the fulfillment of the promise that Marian Banaś made indirectly to Donald Tusk“.

The politician argued that “The PZPN’s application was correct and there were no grounds to reject it“. – The Polish Football Association completed this application within the time period required by the regulation and has legal opinions on it. There was no threat to any public interest – he explained, asking, ‘as far as logic goes Polish Football Association he could build something and then apply for a refund from the State Treasury if he did not have land for construction purposes. – This is one big embarrassment – ​​he said.

The former minister of sports added that “not all applicants are owners of the land on which they carry out investments.” – Lease allows you to use land for construction purposes or other real estate. It is important that this lease is long-term and allows the facility to be maintained for the duration of the project and to achieve all the goals set out in this project, he emphasized.

NIK on irregularities in the Ministry of Sport

Already in June 2024, NIK informed that “in the opinion of the auditors During the PiS government, funds from the Ministry of Sports were distributed uneconomically for sports associations to train youth.

“Kamil Bortniczuk did not ensure a reliable selection of offers. Moreover, exceeding his powers, he granted funding – in the amount of almost PLN 87.8 million — in a non-transparent manner that does not ensure equal treatment of applicants, without legal justification, in violation of the competition regulations, and without regard to the assessment made by the members of the competition committee,” the Supreme Audit Office wrote in its announcement at the time.