Germany summons Polish ambassador over visa scandal

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - The Germany Interior Ministry summoned Polish Ambassador Dariusz Pawlos amid visa fraud allegations, a ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that the Interior Minister (Nancy Faeser) had a (phone) conversation with her Polish counterpart Kaminski yesterday. Furthermore, yesterday morning the Polish ambassador was asked to come and to speak to the Ministry of the Interior,” Mehmet Ata told media representatives in Berlin.

“In these talks it was clearly stated that the federal government expects the Polish government to quickly and fully resolve the allegations of possible visa fraud,” he added.

Ata stressed that further talks between German and Poland were needed on this issue.

Prosecutors charged seven people on Thursday over irregularities in issuing entry visas into Poland, with three of them under temporary detention, authorities said.

Prosecutors and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) said none of those charged are state officials, adding that investigations began in July 2022 and are ongoing.

The charges are "accepting material benefits for invoking influence in a state institution" and "giving material benefits for intermediation in arranging matters in a state institution," said Daniel Lerman, the deputy director of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office.

The acts are reportedly punishable by up to eight years in prison.

The investigation focuses on the fast-tracking of visa procedures in exchange for payments and concerns several hundred visa applications submitted over the period of 18 months, the majority of which were rejected, Lerman added.

He said visa applications had been submitted to Polish diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Philippines and Qatar.