The investigation suggests that the software may have been employed under the direction of former Justice Minister and Prosecutor-General Zbigniew Ziobro in an effort to challenge the results of the 2023 parliamentary elections.
The case is being handled by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in the southeastern city of Rzeszów, which is investigating potential criminal misconduct related to the purchase and use of Hermes by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office between 2020 and 2023.
The software, supplied by Israeli firm NSO Group Technologies, came under scrutiny following a probe by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), a state watchdog tasked with auditing public spending.
According to the prosecutors, a key breakthrough in the case came from the NIK’s audit of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office and the analysis of data stored on its servers and computers.
The findings revealed that between November and December 2023, Hermes was used for an operation labeled as an “analysis for the Prosecutor General’s Office” concerning election-related legal challenges before the Supreme Court.
Effort to challenge results of parliamentary election?
The software was reportedly used to scan social media for posts alleging irregularities by election officials in distributing referendum ballots on October 15, 2023.
Investigators also looked into whether online activity encouraged participation in or a boycott of the referendum.
The prosecutors said that while the analysis was conducted, the results were not ultimately used in the Supreme Court’s review of the parliamentary election’s validity.
However, in a related case concerning the referendum’s legitimacy, a deputy prosecutor-general submitted a motion on December 5, 2023, requesting expert testimony on the impact of alleged legal violations on public behavior.
The Supreme Court’s Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber rejected this motion.
'Glaring lack of diligence'
On Wednesday, NIK chief Marian Banaś presented findings from the audit of the Hermes procurement process.
The watchdog reported that the software purchase cost PLN 15.5 million (USD 3.8 million), exceeding the price of comparable systems by around PLN 6.5 million (USD 1.6 million).
NIK has filed two formal complaints with prosecutors, alleging large-scale financial misconduct and the intentional concealment of financial documents related to Hermes.
Banaś strongly criticized the handling of the case, saying that the audit revealed "a glaring lack of diligence by senior public officials in spending public funds."
He also argued that the software’s use was “incompatible with the principles of a democratic state governed by the rule of law and directly contradicted the fundamental duty of the prosecutor’s office—to uphold the rule of law.”
The NIK report also found that senior prosecutors issued verbal orders for data searches using Hermes without filing formal requests or indicating whether the searches were linked to official investigations.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP