A pedophile and a three-time fraudster on committees. This is how convicted criminals enter the Sejm.

The fact that a participant in a meeting of the parliamentary committee, whose title includes "child protection," was a person legally convicted of sexual abuse of a minor and listed in a public register of pedophiles caused an uproar. The meeting of the Parliamentary Group for the Protection of Children in the Parental Separation Process was chaired by Marcin Józefaciuk, a Civic Coalition MP who was suspended after the "Wprost" report . He also promised to introduce verification of participants in the public register of pedophiles, even though the procedure does not require such verification, and to file a report with the prosecutor's office.

However, our findings show that there are more cases where persons with final convictions participate in the work of parliament.

From Fall to Ministers

All of Poland heard about Paweł Paradowski, a bankrupt fruit grower from Grójec, when the so-called bankruptcy scandal erupted in 2022. At the time, he was portrayed as the main opponent of bankruptcy trustee Krzysztof Gołąb. At the time, he was one of the most active bankruptcy trustees in the country, accused by failing entrepreneurs of deliberately prolonging bankruptcy proceedings and "preying" on their assets. Paradowski became the voice of the victims in the media, but over time, he criticized not only bankruptcy trustee Gołąb but also all others, and advocated for changes in bankruptcy law.

This led him to the corridors of parliament and to the offices of politicians.

Read also: Pedophile at Józefaciuk's parliamentary team meeting. "If you hurt a child once, you lose my trust."

Paradowski participated in meetings with deputy justice ministers from both the current and previous governments, as well as in parliamentary and senate committee meetings, where he spoke and engaged in discussions with ministry representatives. He also advocated for parliamentarians on how bankruptcy and restructuring law should be reformed.

However, there has been less news about the cases that cast a shadow over Paradowski. Not only the unresolved cases, but also the final judgments in three fraud cases totaling tens of thousands of zlotys. As confirmed by the District Court in Grójec, the final judgments were issued on March 22, 2023, June 28, 2024, and January 14, 2025.

Despite these three convictions, Paradowski appeared in the Sejm and Senate this year.

With verdicts in parliamentary committees

In May 2025, Paradowski participated in a meeting of the Sejm's Permanent Subcommittee on Economic Development. The meeting was chaired by Law and Justice (PiS) MP Wojciech Zubowski, and its topic was "information on the current bankruptcy proceedings system in light of applicable regulations and planned changes to legal regulations." Paradowski appeared as a shareholder of his bankrupt company. The transcript states that he summoned representatives of the Ministry of Justice for responses and discussed the matter with the deputy director of the Department of Civil and Commercial Law.

A month later, in June, he appeared in the Sejm again. Specifically, at a meeting of the Justice and Human Rights Committee, where he represented the Association of Victims of Bankruptcy Insolvency Practitioners. The committee, chaired by Paweł Śliz from Poland 2050, was holding its first reading of the government's bill amending the restructuring law.

Arkadiusz Myrcha, Deputy Minister of Justice, who oversees bankruptcy trustees within the ministry, was also present. Paradowski addressed his request to Myrcha to introduce zoning for bankruptcy trustees.

“A legally convicted fraudster influences the legislative process”

In July, Paradowski participated in a joint meeting of the Senate's National Economy and Innovation Committee and the Human Rights and Rule of Law Committee. Karol Tatara, the trustee at Fruit Logistics, a company formerly owned by Paradowski, also attended. During the meeting, he stated that "a legally convicted fraudster is currently influencing the legislative process" and handed out printouts of the verdicts and indictments against Paradowski to the meeting participants.

"I am deeply saddened by the manipulation being perpetrated in the legislative process, both at the previous and this committee meeting," Tatara said. "The point is for you to know who you're dealing with," he addressed the senators, but not only them. Arkadiusz Myrcha also participated in the meeting.

However, the senators were unimpressed by Tatar's speech, and they continued their discussion of amendments to the bill. Later, Paradowski himself spoke, reminding the court that Tatar is the current trustee in his company's bankruptcy proceedings. "One appeals court ruling acquitted me of the offense charged, the remaining cases are pending, and I will file a cassation appeal," he defended himself, appealing to the senators to adopt the amendments proposed by the Entrepreneurs' Council.

However, Paradowski had previously reached out to politicians from both the previous and current governments. He met with Marcin Warchoł, Deputy Minister of Justice under the Law and Justice party (PiS), twice, including once in April 2023, after the first final judgment in a fraud case. Then, in early 2024, still with one final judgment under his belt, he met with Deputy Minister Arkadiusz Myrcha. A short statement appeared on the ministry's website, announcing that the deputy minister had met with victims of the "bankruptcy scandal" and listened to their accounts. "The ministry is planning further meetings with victims," it added.

Deputy Minister Myrcha: Since the regulations allow…

Deputy Minister Arkadiusz Myrcha, who has had several encounters with Paradowski, notes in an interview with "Wprost" that everything was done according to procedure. "Since the regulations allow him to obtain a pass, he attends the meeting. I don't dispute that," he emphasizes. "I know he's convicted because it came up at the Senate committee, but I have no idea when or why. Honestly, I haven't delved into it. All I know is that his company is bankrupt, and we've had a lot of correspondence on the matter, which we've analyzed," he admits.

"He also has the right, even as a convicted citizen, to express his opinions, so he does. However, nothing more happens than his words. His statements do not influence the shape of the regulations," Myrcha emphasizes. "He presented various positions, but they had no impact on what was included in the bill. What's more, his recent statements had nothing to do with what was passed."

He also explains that the meeting at the Ministry of Justice, of which Paradowski was one of the participants, was held at the request of people who consider themselves wronged by the bankruptcy trustees. "That was really the beginning of our tenure, when a whole group came together to raise these issues. We were just getting to know this community," says the deputy minister. "The starting point was the cases handled by Mr. Gołąb, but at the meeting we also discussed several other proceedings, which continued in our activities as supervisors," explains Myrcha.

"Should the regulations be changed, should we more closely monitor who enters parliament, and should we restrict this access?" we ask.

"No similar proposal has been made so far, and only the situation with MP Józefaciuk changed that. Perhaps this is the moment when this topic should be discussed at the level of a team or committee," the deputy minister admits. "Perhaps we should restrict access to people legally convicted of certain crimes? I don't have an opinion at this point; it's hard for me to say what the pros and cons of the current solution are, but perhaps an adjustment is needed," he says.

A loophole in the regulations

And here, the Deputy Minister of Justice is right – everything was conducted in accordance with the regulations. The same was true for the pedophile's participation in the meeting of the Team for the Protection of Children in the Parental Separation Process, chaired by MP Marcin Józefaciuk. No regulations prohibit a person listed in the public register of sexual offenders, the so-called pedophile register, from participating in such a meeting in the Sejm. This is even true at a meeting discussing regulations intended to protect the well-being of children.

Similarly, a person convicted of fraud may attempt to influence the legislative process, for example, regarding reform of the criminal code regarding the crime of fraud. Paradox? Not at all, that's how our legal system works.

The chairman of a parliamentary group is neither obligated nor legally empowered to verify the criminal records of meeting participants. We saw the effect on August 4th at the aforementioned group meeting chaired by MP Józefaciuk.

The current internal regulations of the Sejm and generally applicable law do not provide any regulations that would grant such powers to the chairman of a parliamentary group. Order No. 1 of the Marshal of the Sejm of 9 January 2008 (concerning the rules of entry to parliamentary buildings) nowhere imposes on the meeting organizer the obligation to check the criminal records of guests, nor does it provide any procedures for such checks. The Rules of Procedure of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland also do not establish such an obligation or authority for the chairman of a committee or parliamentary group. Furthermore, the Constitution of the Republic of Poland guarantees in Article 61, Section 2, that "the right to obtain information includes access to documents and admission to meetings of collegial public authorities elected by universal suffrage, with the possibility of audio or video recording, provided this does not pose a threat to an important state interest."

Parliamentary committees of deputies fall under the category of collegial, elected public authorities. Therefore, their meetings are generally open and accessible to the public – any restrictions on this access must be explicitly stipulated by statute. In practice, this means that the committee chairperson cannot refuse participation to a person formally nominated by an authorized entity, provided that the person meets the entry requirements specified in the internal regulations of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.

And, as we've already mentioned, there aren't any. And here we return to the aftermath of the situation with MP Marcin Józefaciuk, who submitted demands to Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia and Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska to regulate these issues. "Wprost" was the first to report on his content.

Read also: Cymański: Many KPO beneficiaries may win in court. They benefited because someone foolishly handed out money.