[4] The alleged scheme, which was uncovered through investigative reporting, involves potential migrants paying an intermediary and then being granted visas more quickly than usual and with only cursory checks.
[5] Polish consulates are alleged to have received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists of names who were to be issued entry visas to Poland without further checks.
[2] Statisticians estimated that up to 350,000 visas may have been illegally issued in return for bribes since 2021[8] in India,[9] The Philippines,[9] Singapore,[9] Hong Kong,[9] Taiwan,[9] UAE,[10] Qatar,[10] and elsewhere.
[15] Edgar K., one of former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Piotr Wawrzyk's aides and one of the key persons in the scheme, decided to testify against his colleagues in return for a reduced sentence.
[16] The right wing nationalist Law and Justice ruling party has long espoused a strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, frequently claiming that Poland would be overrun by illegal immigrants if the opposition came to power.
He reportedly mentioned the scandal in a suicide note, claiming that "[he] did nothing wrong, he wanted to help people regardless of their political affiliation and paid the highest price for it" and that "he is not a briber".
[26][27][28] The Polish prosecutor's office, headed by Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, responded in a statement blaming the leader of the opposition and Civic Platform Donald Tusk accusing him of "falsehoods" and "unrelated findings".
[39] The European Commission demanded an explanation from the Polish government concerning the granting of Schengen visas by Poland and stated that they expect a response to be given within two weeks.