A financial scandal is unfolding in Poland, now under investigation by prosecutors. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, millions in public funds were allocated to establish a museum in Warsaw that never came to be.
The building, purchased in 2022 for over 21 million PLN (€5.03 million / $5.19 million) using Ministry of Culture funds, was meant to house the Christian-National Heritage Museum. However, an audit revealed that no such museum was ever created. “We found numerous irregularities, but at first, we didn’t realize that the museum that was supposed to be created here was a complete fiction,” one auditor said.
Despite the lack of a concrete plan, PiS-era Culture Minister Piotr Gliński approved the purchase. The Roman Dmowski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski Institute of National Thought bought the property but never formally registered the museum. Following the acquisition, it was found that the building needed an additional 10 million PLN (€2.39 million / $2.47 million) in renovations, and converting it into a museum would cost a further 42 million PLN (€10.06 million / $10.38 million).
Suspicious of the transaction, the tax office filed a complaint, accusing Jan Żaryn, one of the officials involved, of possible criminal activity. The investigation is ongoing, with the waste of public funds raising serious concerns.
Wyborcza @czuchnowskiw wraca do historii jak to Jan Żaryn, za zgodą Piotra Glińskiego kupił budynek na Muzeum Dziedzictwa Chrześcijańsko-Narodowego. Tyle, że oni najpierw kupili budynek a potem chcieli planować muzeum.
— Jarek Gasewicz (@GasewiczJarek) February 10, 2025
O wyprowadzenie państwowej kasy tu chodziło, a nie o muzeum. pic.twitter.com/mfR9NpJFNz