Prosecutors Probe Billionaire Solorz's Fraud Claims Against Children

Family Fight Over Business Control
Solorz, who ranks among Poland's richest men after establishing the country's first private TV network, Polsat, now accuses his children of duping him into relinquishing shared control in the Liechtenstein-based TiVi Foundation. This foundation controls and operates much of his business empire, including Cyfrowy Polsat, his most valuable asset.

In August 2024, Solorz signed papers transferring half of his assets to his children, Tobias Solorz, Piotr, and Aleksandra Żak, being a part of the former's earlier succession plan. But hours later, he changed his mind, claiming he had been duped into signing complicated legal papers.

"They wanted everything faster than I was prepared to give it. My kids just tricked me," Solorz told Forbes in December. He said the documents related to complex legal clauses that he could not comprehend at the time.

Prosecutor Steps In
A spokesman for the Warsaw Prosecutor's Office told Puls Biznesu that prosecutors were examining whether the billionaire had been duped into carrying out two unfavourable asset transfers on August 1 and 2.

The timing is important: The TiVi Foundation, recently placed under the children's authority, ousted Zygmunt Solorz, its head, last week. In a statement, the trust defended its action and said it was "essential" for the protection of its assets and responsibilities.

Major Shake-up in Cyfrowy Polsat
After the sacking, Cyfrowy Polsat's management board also ousted its president, Mirosław Błaszczyk. The management shake-up suggests deeper changes taking shape at the business empire as legal and family tensions mount.

The case has set off a firestorm of debate in Poland, where one of the country's most powerful business executives has become embroiled in a very public legal wrangle with his own children over power, money, and billions of dollars in assets.