Poland’s ambassador to France was relieved of his duties after Polish anti-corruption authorities detained him as part of an investigation into a fake-diploma scandal at a private university.
The foreign ministry took the move on Christmas Eve after the anti-corruption agency detained Jan Emeryk Rościszewski over alleged involvement in the diploma mill case. The case involved a rector who later came to head the Collegium Humanum private university, involved in allegedly selling MBA diplomas to politicians and officials, enabling them to take up lucrative positions on the boards of state companies.
According to Polish portal Goniec.pl, Rościszewski is alleged to have obtained a diploma despite not having completed any studies. He later allegedly used the document to gain employment in state-run companies, including a high-level position in Bank Pocztowy, a subsidiary of the state-run postal service Poczta Polska.
The diplomat was detained December 23 at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport and questioned by prosecutors from Katowice, Silesia.
The foreign ministry suspended Rościszewski until the case is resolved. He has been replaced in Paris by another diplomat.
Rościszewski issued a statement denying any involvement with the trading of MBAs by Collegium Humanum.
“I have never studied at, nor am I a graduate of, Collegium Humanum. I have obtained diplomas from the Catholic University of Lublin, the Paris Sciences Po and the High School of Management in Warsaw,” he said.
The diplomat noted he had been employed in high management positions in banks before receiving his degree from the Warsaw School of Management and that he was released immediately after being questioned by the investigators.
The Rector of the Warsaw School of Management later became head of Collegium Humanum, which is currently being investigated for MBA fraud.
In February 2024, CBA launched an extensive inquiry into the Collegium Humanum, which has since rebranded as the Varsovia University of Business and Applied Sciences.
Investigators allege that from 2018, the college’s then-rector and several employees accepted payments and personal benefits in exchange for diplomas that did not reflect any actual studies by their recipient.
Hundreds of civil servants and government officials, many of them linked to the current and previous governments, hold MBAs from the college.
Polish prosecutors charged 29 people, including the Mayor of Wrocław, in connection with the case in November.
