Prosecutors in Poland have prepared applications to lift the parliamentary immunity of five politicians in the Collegium Humanum investigation, bringing a scandal over allegedly improper university qualifications closer to the heart of the state.
The documents concern former deputy agriculture minister Michał Kołodziejczak, former Law and Justice (PiS) MP Ewa Lenart, former Sejm speaker Szymon Hołownia and European Parliament member Michał Kobosko. The fifth person has not yet been officially identified. The developments were reported by Fakt on 1 September 2026.
The preparation of the applications does not mean that they have been formally submitted to parliament. Poland’s prosecutor general must still take the final decision on whether the documents are sent forward. Until then, the move remains a step in the process rather than a completed request to remove the politicians’ protection.
Even at this stage, however, the case has reached a new level of political prominence. The figures named come from different parts of Poland’s political landscape and include both former national officeholders and a serving European parliamentarian. Their involvement underlines the scale of the investigation and places the issue of political accountability alongside the allegations concerning the university.
Investigation reaches senior politicians
The Collegium Humanum investigation has been under way since 2024. It concerns allegations of corruption, fraud and the unlawful preparation of education documents, including MBA diplomas. Prosecutors say the case has so far produced 407 charges against 84 suspects.
The figures point to an investigation that extends well beyond an isolated dispute over individual certificates. The alleged offences involve the production and use of qualifications that could carry weight in political, administrative and professional life. The seizure of assets worth more than 176m zlotys has added a substantial financial dimension to the case.
For the politicians named in the planned applications, the immediate issue is not a finding of guilt. The documents have not yet been formally presented to parliament, and the material supplied does not establish that any of the four identified politicians has been convicted. Their inclusion shows instead that prosecutors believe the investigation has reached a point at which parliamentary immunity may need to be addressed.
The presence of politicians linked to different political groupings also prevents the affair from being reduced to a conflict involving a single party. It demonstrates that parliamentary status is not, in itself, a barrier to scrutiny when prosecutors identify possible wrongdoing. The unresolved identity of the fifth person means that the full political reach of the planned applications is not yet public.
A test for Poland’s education controls
The scandal has consequences beyond the legal proceedings. Collegium Humanum has exposed the vulnerability of the system used to train and certify people seeking access to prestigious management and public-sector positions. If diplomas and qualifications could be obtained or used without adequate verification, the problem reaches institutions that rely on those credentials when judging professional competence.
That possibility damages confidence in the qualifications of part of Poland’s political and managerial elite. A diploma is not merely a private document when it helps determine who is considered suitable for senior responsibilities. Questions about the way qualifications were issued, checked and subsequently accepted therefore become questions about the standards applied inside public life.
The case also puts pressure on the state’s system of oversight of higher education institutions. Prosecutors’ allegations concern corruption, fraud and unlawful documentation, but the wider reputational damage arises from the apparent gap between the formal value of a qualification and the checks that should support it. The longer that gap remains unexplained, the harder it becomes to reassure the public that educational credentials used in government and management reflect genuine preparation.
Next decision rests with the prosecutor general
The next concrete step will depend on the prosecutor general’s decision. If the applications are formally submitted, parliament will face the question of whether the immunity of the named politicians should be lifted as the investigation proceeds. If they are not, the current reports will remain evidence of prosecutors’ preparations rather than a formal parliamentary action.
That procedural uncertainty does not remove the central issue. The investigation has already combined a large number of charges, extensive asset seizures and allegations involving education documents with scrutiny of prominent politicians. Its significance now lies in whether Poland can establish both individual responsibility for any offences and credible safeguards against qualifications being used to open doors to public power without proper verification.
Should Poland’s priority be prosecuting individuals in the Collegium Humanum case or urgently rebuilding confidence in the system that recognised its qualifications?
