Ownership and Finances
The station is owned by the Warsaw Province of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and is financed through donations from its audience. This is an unusual characteristic in Poland, where most radio stations are either publicly funded or dependent on advertising revenue. Due to a concordat with the Vatican that grants certain privileges to the Church, Radio Maryja is not bound by normal accounting rules as it is regarded as being Church-operated. Thus, Radio Maryja is not required to disclose the exact sources of its financing or enterprises, and does not pay taxes. Radio Maryja has disclosed that it is financed by Jan Kobylański, a Uruguay-based billionaire and by Edward Moskal, the chairman of the Polish American Congress.
In February 2011, the local district court of Toruń issued a fine of 3,500 zlotys to Rydzyk, finding that he illegally used Radio Maryja broadcasts to raise funds for his television station, Telewizja Trwam; his University of Social and Media Culture; and a geothermal drilling project run by Fundacja Lux Veritatus. Rydzyk denounced the verdict, calling it an "injustice" and claiming that Polish law ran "contrary to natural law." To date, he has refused to pay the fine. In August 2012, a political controversy transpired when Anna Sobecka, a Law and Justice MP and close ally of Rydzyk's, applied to pay the fine from her own pocket despite not having the authorization to do so. The district court of Toruń requested an investigation by police into her action. Later in 2012 Radio Maryja was fined by the National Broadcasting Council for “hidden advertising”.
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