A television station known for investigative reports on alleged scandals within the United Right has failed to trace a scandal right under its own nose – announced PiS deputy Radosław Fogiel during a press conference held outside the station’s headquarters. The issue revolves around reports that the former president of the TVN Foundation, Rafał Rz., was allegedly involved in crimes against the State Treasury, causing losses of nearly a billion zlotys. Coincidentally, on this occasion, none of the station’s reporters from Wiertnicza were present at the meeting with politicians. Strong words were spoken nonetheless.
At the beginning of the conference, the PiS spokesperson recalled that the United Right government had been combating waste mafia and VAT mafia besides. “Those who dishonestly extorted taxes, those who allowed for years liters or tankers of illegal fuel to flow into Poland and profited from it – engaging in illegal invoicing, carousel fraud,” he reminded.
“Our surprise was immense when yesterday, many independent media outlets reported that individuals associated with the TVN Foundation and, in fact, with TVN were somehow involved in money laundering, falsifying invoices, or dealing with illicit fuel. As a result, the State Treasury was said to have lost a billion zlotys – money that never entered the State Treasury,” stated Bochenek, referring to the action conducted by the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) and the National Revenue Administration (KAS) during which three people were arrested, including the former president and a long-standing member of the TVN Foundation’s management, Rafał Rz.
Connecting the dots
“For years, this individual held very important and prominent positions within the TVN Foundation’s management, and some internet users claim that they might have also been involved with TVN’s operations,” he emphasized. “It is significant that we won’t hear the details of this case from this station’s broadcasts. It is intriguing how TVN omits these threads, neglects to cover this matter, and avoids talking about these issues related precisely to these abuses,” Bochenek remarked.
Another noteworthy aspect is that today, it seems that the dots are indeed connecting to form a coherent image, shedding light on why the United Right camp is under attack from various circles, be it from the Civic Platform in the context of waste mafias or even from TVN station, which attacks the United Right camp on practically every possible topic,” added Bochenek.
“TVN is cowardly”
Present at the conference, MEP from Law and Justice (PiS) Dominik Tarczyński, in light of the revealed information, recalled the very origins of the station. “TVN was founded by a secret collaborator of communist services, Mariusz Walter, codename ‘Seagull.’ A man recommended by Jerzy Urban to carry out propaganda tasks and engage in black PR. This history is crucial because, given TVN’s influence, it is essential to know who founded it and for what purpose,” he emphasized.
TVN, a television channel that primarily targets political attacks on Law and Justice (PiS) and the United Right, specializes in investigative reports. Almost every evening, viewers can watch programs that are packed with menacing music, dark shots, and suggestive portrayals of threats. In most cases, the focus is on Law and Justice (PiS), where ordinary events, such as investments by major Polish corporations, are presented as scandals. Thus, experienced investigative journalists, supposedly dedicated to the public interest, failed to uncover a scandal that was right under their own noses,” underscored PiS deputy Radosław Fogiel. The media event also reminded everyone about the prominent figure at the station – Piotr Kraśko, who was alleged not to have paid taxes for many years.
“They are hypocrites, people who have no right to comment on public life because within their ranks, within their company, there are people who have either committed crimes or individuals who did not pay taxes, and they want to lecture us, these hypocrites,” concluded Dominik Tarczyński. The MEP asked the gathered journalists if any of them represented the station from Wiertnicza, but none dared to show up. “TVN is cowardly,” the MEP commented.”