A Polish court has rejected a request by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to place governing-coalition MP Wojciech Król in pre-trial detention, allowing him to remain free while investigators pursue corruption allegations linked to EU-funded projects.
The Katowice-Wschód District Court made its decision late on Friday after Król had spent much of the day being questioned by European prosecutors in Katowice. He had earlier been detained by officers of Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, or CBA.
Król, an MP from the Civic Coalition and chairman of Poland’s National Media Council, left the court at around 11.30pm.
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“I am very tired. I am glad that the court decided that the prosecution’s request did not deserve to be granted,” he told reporters after his release.
The decision does not end the investigation or clear Król of the allegations against him. It means only that the court did not accept the prosecution’s case that he should remain in custody while proceedings continue.
Król has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said on Friday: “I feel innocent.”
Two further corruption allegations presented
Earlier on Friday, investigators formally presented Król with two additional corruption-related allegations.
His lawyer has said he now faces four allegations in total, including two presented during earlier proceedings.
European prosecutors allege that Król received financial benefits from businessmen in return for using his position and influence. Król disputes the accusations.
The case forms part of a wider investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, or EPPO, into suspected corruption and procurement fraud connected with tram infrastructure in the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis.
The projects under investigation received around PLN 1.9 billion — approximately €448 million — in EU funding between 2007 and 2027, according to EPPO.
All allegations remain unproven and Król is presumed innocent unless convicted by a court.
Parliament had authorised his detention
The court ruling came only a day after the Polish parliament authorised Król’s detention and possible pre-trial imprisonment.
On 17 September, the Sejm formally adopted a resolution granting consent for him to be detained and provisionally arrested.
That parliamentary decision removed the constitutional protection that would otherwise have prevented prosecutors from taking those steps against a sitting MP.
It did not, however, order Król’s imprisonment.
Under Polish criminal procedure, parliament can allow prosecutors to seek detention of an MP, but the decision on whether pre-trial custody is justified remains with the court.
The Katowice court ultimately concluded that the prosecution had not established sufficient grounds for the most restrictive preventive measure.
Why EPPO is involved
The case is significant because the investigation is being led not by Poland’s national prosecution service but by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
EPPO is an independent EU prosecution body responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes affecting the European Union’s financial interests, including fraud involving EU funds and certain forms of corruption.
Poland joined the EPPO system after the change of government following the 2023 election.
In May, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi formally asked the Sejm to lift the immunity of an active Polish MP in connection with the Upper Silesian tram investigation.
EPPO described that as its first request to the Polish parliament for the lifting of an active MP’s immunity.
Although the agency did not identify Król in its original public statement, subsequent parliamentary proceedings confirmed that he was the MP concerned.
That makes the investigation an important early test of how EPPO’s powers operate in Poland when a case reaches the highest levels of elected public office.
Wider investigation began before Król became central figure
The tram investigation predates the proceedings against Król.
In December 2025, EPPO announced the arrest of four suspects in an investigation into suspected procurement fraud and corruption related to tram modernisation.
Investigators said searches had resulted in the seizure of approximately €38,000 in cash and a gold bar. One suspect was placed in pre-trial detention.
The investigation expanded further in June, when two additional senior public officials were detained and charged with corruption.
Those suspects were subjected to non-custodial preventive measures, including police supervision, with one also suspended from official duties.
EPPO has alleged that the wider scheme involved active and passive corruption, manipulation of public procurement procedures and misuse of influence surrounding projects financed with European money.
Król remains in parliament but has been suspended by his party
Król has served as an MP since 2015 and is currently chairman of the National Media Council, the body involved in appointments to Poland’s public media institutions.
Following the latest developments, Civic Coalition suspended him from its parliamentary club, and he ceased serving as one of the club’s deputy chairs.
His parliamentary mandate itself has not been terminated.
The case therefore leaves Poland in an unusual position: a serving MP remains under investigation by the EU’s prosecution service while continuing to sit in parliament.
Prosecutors can challenge the decision
Friday night’s ruling concerns only whether Król should be held in custody before trial.
The corruption investigation continues regardless of the detention decision.
The prosecution can also challenge the court’s refusal to impose pre-trial detention.
What happens next will therefore depend on whether EPPO appeals, whether prosecutors seek other preventive restrictions and how the investigation develops.
For now, however, the most immediate development is clear: despite parliamentary approval for his detention and the prosecution’s request for custody, Wojciech Król remains free while the European corruption case against him proceeds.
