Poland: Former minister charged in connection with spyware purchase
The Polish prosecutor general’s office has brought charges against former deputy minister of justice Michał Woś. He is alleged to have approved the transfer of funds from a justice ministry fund to pay for the purchase of Pegasus spyware – in violation of the law. The charges were announced last week.
Woś was deputy minister of justice from 2017 to 2018 under the Law and Justice (PiS)-led government. He is now a member of Sovereign Poland, a splinter party founded by former members of PiS.
In its announcement, the prosecutor general’s office alleges that while in office Woś transferred 25 million zloty (roughly 6 million euros) from a justice ministry fund to the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) – which then used the funds to buy Pegasus spyware.
The former minister knew that the CBA “did not meet the conditions for obtaining such financial support,” said Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar. By law, the CBA’s activities are financed only with funds taken from the state budget.
In 2022, the president of the Supreme Audit Office announced that his office had found an invoice showing that Polish authorities had purchased Pegasus: according to the auditor, the CBA purchased the controversial spyware using illegal funds that were meant to be used to support crime victims.
This invoice is now being presented as evidence by the prosecutor general’s office, alongside other proofs. Woś disputes the charges against him.
Immunity revoked
The Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, voted in June to revoke Woś’s legal immunity. This was in response to a request by Prosecutor General and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar. According to media reports, the accused could face up to ten years in prison if convicted.
While his case moves through the legal system, Woś must regularly report to police. He is also prohibited from being in contact with other suspects and accused persons as well as with witnesses.
Woś told journalists last week that he believes the charges are illegitimate, because the prosecutor general is not authorized to make such an indictment. He also claimed that financing the purchase of surveillance software was legal. According to Woś, the CBA used Pegasus to uncover foreign spies.
Opposition leaders spied on
Security analysts uncovered evidence in 2021 that the smartphone belonging to Krzysztof Brejza, a former opposition leader and current member of European parliament, had been infiltrated several times by Pegasus during the 2019 election. At the time, Brejza was leading the opposing coalition’s campaign.
What is Pegasus?
Pegasus is a surveillance software developed by NSO Group, an Israeli company. The spyware can take complete control of an infiltrated device. It can turn on a smartphone’s camera and microphone, or copy all data saved on the phone – all while the phone’s owner remains unaware. Infiltrators using Pegasus can access location data and view passwords. The surveillance software has come in for criticism for years and has been linked to human rights abuses.
Pegasus was also used to spy on lawyer Roman Giertych. His clients have included Donald Tusk, who became prime minister of Poland in December 2023 (having held the post previously from 2007 to 2014) and before that was head of the Civic Coalition, an alliance of opposition parties.
Prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek was another target of surveillance. She co-founded an independent association of prosecutors who criticized the changes to the Polish judicial system implemented by the former PiS-led government.
The mayor of the city of Sopot also had his phone hacked, according to later reports.
Incidents under investigation
In January of this year, shortly after taking office, the new Polish government convened a parliamentary commission to investigate whether the former PiS-led government used Pegasus to spy on political opponents.
According to a preliminary report put out by the Justice Ministry in April, Pegasus was used to target nearly 600 people in Poland between 2017 and 2022. Justice Minister Bodnar stated at the time the report was released that the list included “many more well-known people” than had previously been made public.
Even before this, in October of last year, the Polish Senate had concluded that the purchase of surveillance software was illegal. The Senate also found that the 2019 elections were unfair as a result of the use of Pegasus against opposition leaders.
Spyware used in other EU countries as well
Elsewhere in the EU the use of spy software against members of the political opposition or the press has also come to light in Hungary, Spain and Greece.
An investigation in Greece was shuttered in July. A similar investigation in Spain was initially dropped, but was reopened in April of this year.
After conducting its own investigation, the Hungarian data protection authority determined that the use of spyware in the country was legally justified. (js)