A major scandal has erupted in Poland over the allocation of grants from the National Recovery Plan (KPO), a program designed to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The controversy centers on revelations that millions of złoty were awarded to projects of questionable public value, including purchases of yachts, saunas, tanning beds, mobile coffee machines, virtual shooting ranges, bridge-playing platforms, and even “nutritious beer.” In one striking case, a hotel received approximately PLN 417,000 to produce artisanal ice cream, while a design firm was granted over PLN 450,000 to develop an e-learning platform for the card game bridge. Another company used its subsidy to buy a motorboat, justifying it as a diversification strategy, at a cost of more than PLN 520,000.
The disclosures, widely circulated in Polish media and on social networks, triggered public outrage and condemnation from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the misuse of funds unacceptable and ordered an immediate review of all grants, with instructions to withdraw funding wherever abuses were identified. Deputy Minister Jan Szyszko stressed that while thousands of applications had been processed, each suspicious case would be examined carefully, acknowledging that some questionable ones might have slipped through the system.
In response to the growing scandal, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy announced rigorous checks and said that a full review by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) would be completed by late September or within the third quarter of 2025. The Prosecutor’s Office launched preliminary investigative actions, while the European Commission demanded explanations from Warsaw over the appropriateness of certain funded projects. The Commission warned that bodies such as OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) could become formally involved. EPPO has already confirmed that it is closely monitoring developments and stands ready to open proceedings if necessary.
Social media users fueled the uproar by sharing screenshots from the official grant map, highlighting a wide array of unusual beneficiaries. Among them were sauna-equipped pizzerias, short-term rental ventures, and even a swingers’ club. Many posts mixed outrage with irony, likening the publicly funded projects to luxury leisure businesses. Political parties also weighed in. Members of Razem and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party denounced the grants as a waste of public resources or outright theft, pointing out that at the same time, crucial initiatives—such as domestic drug production—remained underfunded.
The National Recovery Plan, worth over €25 billion in grants, was intended to rebuild and strengthen the Polish economy in the aftermath of the pandemic. The scandal not only calls into question the effectiveness of Poland’s oversight mechanisms but also threatens to undermine public trust in one of the country’s most important EU-funded recovery programs.
