Dr Sylwester Gładyś, a lecturer at the Warsaw University of Technology, disappeared on 24 February, a day after testifying to the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) in an investigation into Warsaw’s re-privatisation. According to Wirtualna Polska, prosecutors did not commission an expert analysis of the signature on the disputed power of attorney and see no connection between the testimony and the disappearance.
What police communications say
The search is being led by the Warsaw V District Police Headquarters. In a police statement, it was said that the 71-year-old was last seen on 24 February on Encyklopedyczna Street in Bielany, where he left his home. He did not return and did not contact his family. Police described him as a man 180 cm tall, with grey hair, a moustache and beard, who wears glasses. He was wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and a dark beret, and carrying Nordic walking poles. Due to illness, his hands tremble.
According to his daughter, as quoted by natemat.pl, CCTV showed that after taking out the rubbish, he entered Młociński Park just after 4 p.m. and headed towards the Vistula. The recordings do not indicate that he left through the same entrance. The family runs its own search page; according to them, further sections of the Vistula riverbank have been searched, with no trace of the missing man.
The re-privatisation thread, according to WP
As Wirtualna Polska reports, the day before his disappearance Gładyś was questioned by the CBA in a case concerning Warsaw’s re-privatisation. It concerns properties at 80 and 82 Pańska Street, in which he held shares. WP writes that he then saw a power of attorney bearing his name and, according to relatives, claimed he had not signed it. This version comes solely from WP; we are not aware of any statement on the matter from prosecutors or the CBA.
According to WP, prosecutors did not commission an analysis of the disputed signature and saw no grounds to link the testimony with the disappearance. Marek M., known from the market for claims on Warsaw property, is also mentioned in the case. The portal notes that there is no evidence linking him to the disappearance. Likewise, there are no findings that a crime was committed.
Hypotheses and their limits
According to WP, the police initially leaned towards a suicide theory. Relatives, as the portal reports, do not believe it: he left a computer switched on with an unfinished lecture, an open balcony and a swimming bag in the car. There is no official finding on whether a crime, an accident or another event occurred. None of the versions can be confirmed.
Property and re-privatisation matters in Warsaw have been the subject of proceedings for years. We wrote about financial traces in other high-profile cases in our article on assets linked to the Zondacrypto case, but that is a separate proceeding.
What it means
The search formally continues. Anyone who saw the man or has information about his whereabouts can contact the Warsaw V District Police Headquarters at 7 Żeromskiego Street in Warsaw, or call the emergency number 112. As of publication, no information has been given that prosecutors or police have changed the classification of the case or ordered a signature examination.
