Half a million złoty vanish from the bank account of Lech Wałęsa

July 1, 2008 According to Polish radio station, RMF FM, almost half a million Polish złoty (almost US$ 235,000) vanished from the bank account of Lech Wałęsa, a former President of Poland and the original leader of Solidarność (Solidarity). The case is already under investigation by the public prosecutor in Gdańsk.

The radio station identified the suspect as a former employee of Millennium Bank and the son of a former co-worker of Wałęsa. The Prokuratura alleges that Michał L. stole about 870,000 złoty (about US$408,000) from two bank accounts, one of which belongs to Wałęsa. The bank has already returned all the money.

Lech Wałęsa downplayed the situation. "I have all the money I had. I can show you I haven't lost even a grosz", he said in a interview with RMF FM.