Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego The Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego ( ABW ; English : " Internal Security Agency " ) is Poland ' s domestic intelligence agency . The ABW is responsible for analyzing , reporting and preventing threats to Poland ' s internal security , including terrorism , foreign espionage , arms smuggling , drug trafficking , organized crime , corruption and economic coercion . Its powers include arresting individuals , conducting searches and investigations , and combating terrorism with a specialized armed anti - terrorist force . The ABW is headquartered on ul . Rakowiecka in the Mokotów district of Warsaw . As part of its institutional hierarchy , the Head of the ABW reports directly to the Prime Minister of Poland , who in turn provides oversight of the ABW , or can appoint a special minister to coordinate intelligence and security activities for oversight . The ABW is considered by the government of Poland as one of the nation ' s special services . History . The ABW was created under the premiership of Leszek Miller on 24 May 2002 , following the Council of Ministers ' submission of its legislation on the Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency bill to the Sejm for approval . The legislation effectively split the previous national intelligence service , the Urząd Ochrony Państwa ( UOP ) , into two separate components : the Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego ( ABW ) , responsible for domestic intelligence operations , and the Agencja Wywiadu ( AW ) , dedicated to gathering and analyzing foreign intelligence outside of Poland . Mission and operations . In accordance to Article 5 of the 2002 Internal Security Agency and Foreign Intelligence Agency Law , the ABW is tasked to protect Polish citizens , property and the state in a number of fields . These operations include domestic counter - intelligence activities , ensuring economic security , counter - terrorism and weapons proliferation , combating organized crime , securing state classified information , and protecting Polish cyberspace operations . According to law , ABW investigations must be preceded by a warrant issued from a regional court after a submitted request from the ABW ' s Head . The ABW works closely with other security apparatuses in counter - intelligence and counter - terrorism operations to pool data , including the Agencja Wywiadu , the Policja , the Straż Graniczna and the Biuro Ochrony Rządu . The ABW also monitors corruption among state agencies and officials . According to its 2009 report , the ABW monitored 82 state enterprises undergoing privatization , as well as monitored the flow of European Union funds to Polish coffers . Ministries of state have been subject to investigations from the ABW for financial irregularities , including the ministries for Finance , National Defence , Environment , Justice , Interior and Administration , and GDDKiA . Among the agency ' s powers , the ABW reserves the right to arrest individuals , search individuals and premises , inspect cargo from land , water and air transport , and request assistance from other Polish security services and government bodies . The ABW ' s central operations center is located in the Mokotów borough of Warsaw along ul . Rakowiecka , standing in close proximity to Mokotów Prison and the Ministry of Interior and Administration . The agency ' s training center is located in the village of Emów , east of Warsaw in Masovian Voivodeship . The ABW maintains offices in nearly all of Poland ' s major cities , including Białystok , Bydgoszcz , Gdańsk , Katowice , Kraków , Lublin , Łódź , Olsztyn , Opole , Poznań , Radom , Rzeszów , Szczecin , Warsaw , Wrocław and Zielona Góra . Additionally , the ABW maintains international liaison offices within Polish diplomatic missions in Berlin , Brussels , Kiev , London , Moscow and Prague . Internationally , the ABW works closely with the intelligence and security agencies of fellow NATO and European Union member states , as well as outside states including Afghanistan , Israel , Kazakhstan and Montenegro . The ABW also worked closely with the Security Service of Ukraine in preparation for the UEFA Euro 2012 over the coordination of security plans . Oversight . The activities of the ABW , along with the other special services ( including the AW and the CBA ) are provided oversight by the Prime Minister of Poland directly , or through a specially appointed minister working within the Chancellery . The Head of the ABW reports to the prime minister regarding security matters of concern . The prime minister also retains the right to propose candidates to lead the ABW ; nominated individuals are then subject to the opinion of the President of Poland . The president also reserves the right to receive information from the ABW Head regarding security concerns . A Committee of Special Services under the Council of Ministers within the Chancellery retains responsibility of planning , coordinating and overseeing the activities of the ABW and all other special services . The agency ' s legal activities are tied to the Public Prosecutor General , who is regularly informed by the ABW ' s Head of the agency ' s course of actions . Additionally , the Special Services Committee within the Sejm evaluates the performance of the agency , giving opinion to budgetary concerns , investigations and cooperation among the special services . Controversies . Since its establishment in 2002 , several operations conducted by the ABW have been met with controversy . In July 2006 , the ABW arrested controversial television personality , private detective and former Sejm member Krzysztof Rutkowski on charges of money laundering . Rutkowski , however , was released one year later . In the aftermath of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu - 154 crash , killing President Lech Kaczyński and other senior members of the armed forces and government , members of the Law and Justice party alleged that leaked memos showed the agency had spied on the late president and First Lady Maria Kaczyńska during a state visit to Georgia in 2008 . In May 2011 , the ABW conducted a dawn raid on the home of the owner of AntyKomor . pl , a satirical website critical of Polish president Bronisław Komorowski , citing that the website was in breach of Article 135 of the Polish Penal Code for insulting the president . In response to opposition allegations of stifling free speech , Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated afterwards that the agency was a victim of the penal code ' s legal vagueness . Later , Prime Minister Tusk criticized the agency for acting " overzealous . "