Wojciech Balczun is the new Minister of State Assets, appointed after Donald Tusk’s cabinet reshuffle. We have already written on Niezalezna.pl about his dangerous connections, and now it turns out that even Balczun’s views may be highly controversial. On the minister’s Facebook profile, one can find, among other things, a post in the red-and-black colors of the Banderite movement with the greeting to UPA soldiers — “Herojam sława” (“Glory to the Heroes”).
Laxity in the fight against corruption and a “tsar-like” salary — these were among the accusations made a few years ago against Wojciech Balczun, then head of Ukrainian Railways, by Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure. But the doubts surrounding his activities and connections in Ukraine go much further.
A close acquaintance of the new head of the Ministry of State Assets is a former Ukrainian deputy minister who, two years ago, set up a London-based arms trading company. Their paths crossed not only in Ukraine but also in the Górnośląski Fundusz (Upper Silesian Fund), a local government entity — writes the latest issue of Gazeta Polska, large portions of which were published by Niezalezna.pl.
Another questionable association of Balczun’s is with Jerzy Dominik K. The two men operated together in Ukraine in a company called Aurum Polonez, engaged in amber mining. The problem is that Jerzy Dominik K. is currently facing charges of participating in an organized criminal group. The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin told TVN that “the group’s activities included tax crimes committed in 2016, involving large-scale tax evasion of around ten million złotys in connection with fuel trading.”
The Ministry of State Assets explains that “the minister had no contact with Jerzy K., nor any knowledge of the charges or his past.”
Red-and-Black Sympathies
It remains to be seen whether the Ministry is aware of what the new minister has on his Facebook profile. Michał Dworczyk (PiS) was the first to draw attention to it. In one conference photo posted online, Balczun stands against a red-and-black — Banderite — background. If there was any doubt about the intention, it is dispelled by another graphic he published.
While the slogan “Herojam sława!” (“Glory to the Heroes!”) is indeed used today by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Balczun posted it again — this time in red-and-black colors. A minister fluent in Ukrainian, both spoken and written, can hardly be unaware of those connotations.