European recovery funds designed to rescue pandemic-stricken hospitality venues in Poland have instead financed yacht purchases, high-end vehicles and even a sex club.

The misappropriation emerged through government transparency efforts, revealing how £244million in European Union grants were distributed.

Recipients of the programme, originally established to support hotels, restaurants and cultural establishments devastated by Covid restrictions, included a pizzeria that installed sunbeds.

A swingers' establishment in southern Poland also appeared amongst beneficiaries, according to findings reported by Politico.

The revelations form part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition government's broader transparency initiative, which published an interactive online map detailing grant allocations.

Poland's hard-right Law and Justice party has seized upon these disclosures to attack the current administration.

"One of the biggest scandals since 1989," declared Tobiasz Bocheński, a PiS MEP.

The opposition has pledged to conduct parliamentary examinations of the grant distributions and investigate every "link, dependency and decision-making chain".

Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk

Their response highlights the political ramifications of the transparency drive, which has inadvertently exposed questionable spending decisions made during the pandemic recovery period.

The hospitality sector grants formed part of a larger £52billion allocation from the EU's National Recovery Plan earmarked for Poland.

Some business owners have mounted defences of their grant usage.

Grzegorz Urbaniak, a restaurant proprietor in central Poland's Łódź, justified his acquisition of two yachts with the funding.

Tobiasz Bocheński labelled it as one of the biggest 'scandals' since 1989

"We didn't get this money for vacations," Urbaniak told Money.pl, arguing the vessels could generate tourist rental income during potential future restaurant closures.

He maintained this represented legitimate business diversification rather than misuse of recovery funds.

Another recipient, whose business shared an address with a swingers' club, insisted his grant money purchased metalworking equipment rather than supporting adult entertainment activities.

These explanations underscore the controversy surrounding how pandemic recovery funds were ultimately deployed.

The funding had remained frozen throughout PiS's tenure in government due to Brussels' concerns about proper utilisation.

Tusk campaigned on accessing these billions during his successful 2023 election bid.

"We put too much effort into unlocking these billions to allow anyone to waste them," the Prime Minister stated at the weekend.

He pledged that "anyone who made mistakes will face consequences, regardless of their position or party affiliation".

Prosecutors have initiated preliminary investigations into the grant distributions. Initial findings from an official audit are anticipated next month, potentially revealing further instances of misallocated pandemic recovery funds.