Former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is wanted in his home country on suspicion of corruption, has left Hungary and is now in the United States, he said in an interview.
“I flew here yesterday,” the 55-year-old politician from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party told broadcaster Telewizja Republika on Sunday, describing the US as “the strongest democracy in the world.”
Poland’s public prosecutor is investigating Ziobro over 26 alleged offences, including suspected membership in a criminal organization and the embezzlement of the equivalent of roughly $40 million. Prosecutors say he faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Ziobro has dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and says he is being politically persecuted.
Ziobro fled to Hungary last year along with his former deputy Marcin Romanowski, where both were granted political asylum by then-prime minister Viktor Orbán. Both men are members of PiS, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.
Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, had previously signalled that his government would no longer offer protection to the two politicians.
Ziobro’s departure could strain relations between Poland, Hungary and the United States. Current Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said Warsaw would seek clarification from both countries on the legal basis that allowed Ziobro to leave Hungary and enter the US without valid documents.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry had declared Ziobro’s passport invalid after his flight to Hungary. Żurek also announced that Poland would submit an extradition request to the United States.
Speaking from the US, Ziobro said he was not afraid of legal proceedings. “An independent American court is certainly an independent court, so if they want to initiate extradition proceedings, go ahead.”
