Poland investigates irregular property restitution cases

A special Polish government commission is investigating irregularities in the restitution to private owners of Warsaw properties that were seized under communism.

The Verification Commission met Monday, led by Deputy Justice Minister Patryk Jaki. It will review dozens of decisions by Town Hall officials and Warsaw courts that returned property into private hands. Media reports and initial findings show that, in many cases, the valuable plots and houses went to people who had no right to them, in violation of the law.

Thousands of tenants were removed, often forcefully, from the restituted houses. A number of lawyers and city officials have been arrested under an ongoing criminal investigation.

The commission has the power to reverse unlawful restitutions.

Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, meanwhile, refuses to face the commission.