The Border defender from Rzeszow-Jasionka broke up a criminal group that issued false papers to universities to foreigners. These were intended to legalise their stay in Poland and cross EU borders. So far 12 people have heard the charges – both Poles and Ukrainians.
According to the spokesperson for the Bieszczady branch of SG, the investigation began in 2022. It was established that members of the group, acting under the cover of private colleges, helped illegal border crossing and legalizing residence. The procedure included 3 universities – 2 in the Mazowieckie province, 1 in Podkarpacie – without the required accreditation of the Ministry of abroad Affairs.
The “universities” were to issue more than a 1000 documents, including admission certificates for studies or postgraduate studies. They went to citizens from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, China, Algeria or Lebanon. In the case of Ukrainians, papers were utilized during the pandemic and after the war broke out to let them to cross the border.
The certificates were besides utilized to get Polish citizenship or approval to stay as a resident – confirmed the expected cognition of Polish. In any cases, the procedure has ended in granting citizenship, which is presently being verified.
The leader of the group went to jail, with freedom and property safety measures applied to the others. The investigation under the supervision of the D.A. in Przemyśl continues – further detentions are possible.
