A new controversy has hit Karol Nawrocki, a run-off candidate in Poland’s presidential election, on May 26 after a reportage by the news website Onet alleged Nawrocki was involved in arranging prostitutes for guests at the Grand Hotel in Sopot while working as a security guard there.

Nawrocki is neck and neck with the liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski in the polls just days ahead of the decisive run-off vote in the election on June 1. The two rivals emerged top of the pack of 13 candidates in the first round of the vote on May 18.

There are no polls yet to gauge the impact of the allegations by Onet, which first surfaced in less substantiated form earlier in the campaign.

Nawrocki’s presidential bid has weathered other problematic episodes from his past without a sustained drop in poll ratings. Media have reported at length on Nawrocki’s alleged takeover of an apartment from an elderly man, his participation in a football hooligans’ brawl when he was 26, or apparent heavy use of snus, a nicotine dose applied on the gum.

The Onet report included statements from former security colleagues who said Nawrocki had suggested they participate in a scheme providing sex workers to guests, offering them a share of the profits. They said they were prepared to testify in court but had requested anonymity due to safety concerns.

Nawrocki denied the allegations and said he would file a civil lawsuit against Onet and submit a private criminal complaint.

“Today in Poland, the real problem is political prostitution, which wants to give away our country for foreign money. For this heap of lies and hatred, I will sue Onet for protection of personal rights and also file a private criminal complaint,” Nawrocki said in a post on X.

If filed, the lawsuit would take months to conclude, while a trial in the so-called election mode would require a court decision within 24 hours, according to Polish law. Nawrocki has chosen not to pursue the 24-hour option, leaving himself open to accusations from political opponents that he was attempting to conceal something from the public.

“The media aides of Tusk and Trzaskowski will not take away our victory,” Nawrocki also said, referring to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Trzaskowski’s party boss.

“Karol Nawrocki has spoken on this many times. Nothing of the sort ever happened … It’s a coordinated attack by institutions linked to Tusk,” said Adam Bielan, PiS Member of the European Parliament and a Nawrocki campaign staffer.

PiS Chairman Jarosław Kaczyński called the Onet story “another repulsive attack based on lies.”

But Onet’s reporting, as well as reports in other media over recent months, has led to questioning his being fit for office, where he would handle sensitive and classified information of national and international importance.

Tusk claimed Kaczyński knew of Nawrocki’s alleged actions for years. “You knew about everything, Jarosław. About the connections to criminals, arranging girls, the apartment fraud, and other matters still hidden,” Tusk said on X.

The run-off’s outcome could reshape the future of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government. Tusk has struggled to advance reforms due to obstruction from outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally. He has promised to move on quickly if Trzaskowski is elected.

A Nawrocki victory would enable PiS to continue blocking Tusk’s agenda until the next parliamentary election in 2027, when the party hopes to reclaim power by portraying Tusk as ineffective.