Teachers from Odesa detained for bribes in Poland

In Poland, officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau detained three teachers from Odesa in the premises of the former Collegium Humanum University. They tried to pass a bribe of $40,000 for issuing diplomas to 60 people.

This was reported by Rzeczpospolita.

According to the Polish prosecutor's office, the detainees are teachers from Odesa. They were part of an organized criminal group headed by the former rector of this university. The Ukrainian teachers were granted bail of 15 thousand zlotys and banned from leaving Poland.

Collegium Humanum is a private university in Warsaw, which in 2023 was at the center of a scandal over fake diplomas. As it turned out, the institution issued certificates of completion for bribes, without requiring students to pass exams or attend classes.

According to Wiadomosci, the scale of the fraud was shocking - the number of fake diplomas reached thousands.

Among those who purchased the fake diplomas were Polish army officers and civil servants. As part of the investigation, the rector of the university, Paweł Czarnecki, and his relative, former MEP Ryszard Czarnecki, were arrested. At first, the rector denied any involvement, but later began to cooperate with the investigation and admitted that he was not the only one involved in the sale of diplomas.

The publication emphasizes that the scandal surrounding Collegium Humanum caused a significant public outcry and provoked a discussion of the quality of education and the work of private universities in Poland. To continue enrolling students, the institution had to change its name.

Meanwhile, in Odesa, the head of a college extorted money from a former student who wanted to resume her studies. The man was detained by law enforcement officers while taking a bribe.

Odesa region ranks third in Ukraine in terms of the number of people who committed corruption or corruption-related offenses in 2023, according to the register of corrupt officials of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.