Prosecutors probe bugging of Polish top officials
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into the recording of a private conversation between the country's interior minister and the head of the central bank that was recently published by a magazine.
In the recording, which has stirred outrage in Poland, the two discussed how the National Bank of Poland could help the government deal with a budget deficit and increase its chances of winning re-election in 2015. The central bank is supposed to be independent from the government and interference either way is prohibited.
Renata Mazur, a spokeswoman for Warsaw prosecutors, said the probe was opened at the request of Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, who acted in the capacity of a victim.
Poland¿s Prime Minister Donald Tusk gestures as he tells a news conference in Warsaw, Poland on Monday, June 16, 2014, that he sees no reason to fire the Interior Minister after a secret recording was published in the media, suggesting he was making an improper under-the-table deal with the head of the central bank. Tusk said the two official did not break the law, but were discussing ways of helping the Polish state. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
In Poland, anyone, including a journalist, who uses bugging or wiretapping to get unauthorized access to information that is not destined for him or her can be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
It wasn't clear who recorded the meeting at a Warsaw restaurant, but Poland's domestic intelligence agency has identified a number of people who might be linked to the recordings and have searched several locations to secure evidence, agency spokesman Maciej Karczynski told the Associated Press.
In the recording, the head of the central bank, Marek Belka, requested a change of the finance minister in return for his favors. That minister, Jacek Rostowski, was replaced four months later, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk has denied it was a result of the talks.
Tusk has defended the two leaders, saying the conversation was in Poland's interest, and that the secret bugging amounts to an attempted coup.
Opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has called on the government to step down and warned that he will seek a no-confidence vote in parliament.
The magazine which published the conversation, Wprost, had no immediate comment on the investigation Tuesday.
FILE - This Thursday June 10, 2010 file photo, shows Marek Belka, new chief of the National Bank of Poland, prior to a meeting with Parliament Speaker, acting president Bronislaw Komorowski after the parliament confirmed him as the new central bank governor, in Warsaw, Poland. The Polish government and central bank were in damage-control mode on Monday June 16, 2014 after a secret recording was published in which two key leaders appeared to be making an improper under-the-table deal. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz, File)
Poland¿s Prime Minister Donald Tusk tells a news conference in Warsaw, Poland on Monday, June 16, 2014, that he sees no reason to fire the Interior Minister after a secret recording was published in the media, suggesting he was making an improper under-the-table deal with the head of the central bank. Tusk said the two official did not break the law, but were discussing ways of helping the Polish state. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland¿s Prime Minister Donald Tusk is surrounded by media as he tells a news conference in Warsaw, Poland on Monday, June 16, 2014, that he sees no reason to fire the Interior Minister after a secret recording was published in the media, suggesting he was making an improper under-the-table deal with the head of the central bank. Tusk said the two official did not break the law, but were discussing ways of helping the Polish state. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
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