Former SKOK Wołomin executive sentenced to 14 years for €82 million money laundering scheme

A Warsaw court has handed down a 14-year prison sentence to a former senior figure in the collapsed SKOK Wołomin credit union, convicting him of laundering hundreds of millions of złoty in what prosecutors describe as one of Poland's largest financial crime cases. The verdict against Piotr Polaszczyk marks a significant development in a sprawling scandal that ultimately cost the country's deposit guarantee system more than €710 million.

Background and Context

The SKOK Wołomin collapse represents one of Poland's most serious financial fraud cases, involving systematic abuse of the credit union system. The institution, based near Warsaw, imploded after investigators uncovered an elaborate scheme where massive fraudulent loans were issued to shell companies and complicit individuals. The losses were so substantial that Poland's deposit guarantee system was forced to cover the shortfall, placing the burden on taxpayers and highlighting vulnerabilities in the country's financial oversight framework.

Key Figures and Entities

The Warsaw–Praga District Court found Piotr Polaszczyk, a former senior executive at SKOK Wołomin, guilty of laundering more than 347 million złoty (approximately €82 million). According to court records, judges determined that Polaszczyk co-led an organized criminal group that treated the fraudulent scheme as a regular source of income. The prosecution had sought the maximum possible sentence of 15 years, while the defense had argued for complete acquittal. Polaszczyk's legal team has announced plans to appeal the verdict, which is not yet final.

Legal and Financial Mechanisms

Presiding judge Marek Dobrasiewicz detailed how the crime involved systematic abuse of the financial system through sophisticated methods. According to court testimony, large sums of money were rapidly recorded and withdrawn without any real cash ever being present—a technique that allowed the criminals to move vast amounts while obscuring the paper trail. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of approximately €119,000 and ordered Polaszczyk to pay more than €8 million in compensation to the bankruptcy trustee of SKOK Wołomin. The judges rejected defense claims that the case was politically motivated, instead finding evidence of deliberate and organized criminal activity.

International Implications and Policy Response

While Monday's verdict addressed money laundering charges specifically, it forms part of a much broader scandal with significant implications for financial regulation in Poland and across Central Europe. A separate trial related to the SKOK Wołomin collapse began earlier this month, with prosecutors alleging that insiders and their associates exploited weak oversight mechanisms, falsified documents, and concealed proceeds through complex financial schemes. The case underscores ongoing challenges in preventing similar frauds within cooperative financial institutions, which often operate with less stringent oversight than traditional banks. The extraordinary scale of the losses has prompted calls for strengthened regulatory frameworks and enhanced cross-border cooperation to combat increasingly sophisticated financial crimes.

Sources

This report is based on court proceedings and verdict documentation from the Warsaw–Praga District Court, prosecutor statements, and public records regarding the SKOK Wołomin bankruptcy proceedings between 2020 and 2024.