Former Ulhówek mayor accused of diverting 9,500 PLN from municipal budget for own MBA studies
Łukasz K., former mayor of Ulhówek municipality, has been charged with abuse of power after paying for his own postgraduate studies from the local authority office funds. He faces between one and ten years in prison.
Charges against former Ulhówek mayor: 9,500 PLN of public funds for MBA studies
The District Prosecutor's Office in Zamość has brought charges of abuse of power by a public official against the former mayor of Ulhówek municipality – Interia reported. Łukasz K. allegedly financed his own postgraduate studies from the municipal budget without legal basis or formal approval.
In October 2022, Łukasz K. enrolled in an Executive Master of Business Administration programme at the Academy of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw. The cost was 9,500 PLN, payable in full in advance. The prosecutor's office established that "the parties to the contract were solely Łukasz K. and the university" – before beginning his studies, he did not submit a request for co-financing nor obtain approval to cover tuition fees from public funds.
On 22 May 2023, the mayor verbally instructed the municipal treasurer to transfer 9,500 PLN from the office account to the university account. The treasurer realised that appropriate documentation justifying the expenditure from the budget was required. Łukasz K. assured her, however, that such a document existed and would be provided. The woman made the transfer.
According to the prosecutor's office, "after making the transfer, the Municipal Treasurer repeatedly asked Łukasz K. to provide documentation justifying the expenditure incurred, which did not, however, occur". Six days after the payment was recorded, Łukasz K. completed his studies and received his diploma.
Investigators emphasised that "at the time the studies began, there was no legal or factual basis for covering tuition fees from municipal funds".
The former mayor denied the alleged act and refused to make a statement. For abuse of power by a public official, the penalty is imprisonment from one to ten years.
Source: Interia