A case about the disappearance of PLN 1 million from Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) accounts ended with the acquittal of a ZUS employee accused of causing the loss. This case is significant not only because of its outcome, but because it reveals systemic problems in how public institutions operate and how their employees are treated when things go wrong.
The accused – a ZUS employee – was charged with causing the loss of public funds through negligence in her official duties. The prosecution argued that she failed to properly verify and process certain transactions, which led to unauthorized transfers totaling over PLN 1 million.
The defense
Our defense strategy focused on several key arguments:
- The internal control systems at ZUS were inadequate and did not provide employees with the tools to detect fraud.
- The employee followed established procedures and could not have been expected to detect the fraud given the information available to her.
- The actual perpetrators of the fraud exploited systemic weaknesses, not individual employee negligence.
- Holding a mid-level employee responsible for losses caused by systemic failures is fundamentally unjust.
The court agreed with our arguments and acquitted the defendant, finding that the prosecution failed to prove that her actions or omissions constituted criminal negligence.
Broader implications
This case highlights a troubling pattern in how Polish public institutions respond to internal failures: rather than addressing systemic problems, they seek individual scapegoats – typically lower-level employees who lack the power or resources to defend themselves. This is both unjust and counterproductive, as it discourages employees from reporting problems and creates a culture of fear rather than accountability.
Paweł Osiński
Attorney specializing in white-collar criminal law and employee rights