Poland asks U.S. to hand over ex-minister over alleged fund misuse

WARSAW, July 27 - Poland asked the United States on Monday to extradite fugitive former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who faces 26 charges mainly related to the alleged misuse of money from a crime victims' fund for political purposes, prosecutors said.

Poland is seeking to prosecute Ziobro, the architect of changes to the Polish judicial system that the European Union has said undermined the rule of law during the 2015-2023 rule of the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS).

He has denied wrongdoing and said he is the victim of a politically motivated campaign by Poland's pro-EU ruling coalition.

"Today, a request for the pre-trial detention and extradition of Zbigniew Ziobro was transmitted through diplomatic channels to the competent authorities of the United States of America," the public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Ziobro and his deputy Marcin Romanowski were granted asylum in Hungary by the previous nationalist government. Ziobro managed to flee to the U.S. on May 9, the day Hungary's new Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who had promised to revoke their refugee status, was sworn in.

Reuters has reported that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau had instructed senior State Department officials to facilitate and approve a visa for him.

Romanowski's whereabouts are unknown. REUTERS