Poland’s Honorary Consul in Monaco involved in a murder case

Wojciech Janowski, Poland's Honorary Consul in Mexico admitted to involvement in the murder of his mother-in-law, Helene Pastor – heiress to one of the biggest family fortunes in Monaco. Shortly thereafter, Janowski was dismissed form his position which he held since 2007. “The post of Honorary Consul is a social activity and as such, it should be executed by a person of public trust, which under the circumstances is not the case,” Poland's MFA wrote in the statement. Pastor along with her driver were shot and killed by an unidentified gunman in May. Janowski, his wife (who has been released without any chargers) and 22 other suspects have been detained so far in connection with the crime. During his interrogation, Janowski admitted that he was involved in the murder. Honorary consulates are usually set up in smaller countries, or in a cities that are distant from the full-time diplomatic missions of the country. Very often these are private, locally-engaged people, who combine this role with his own private activities and often are not even a citizen of the sending country. He does not receive any salary for holding this post. His duties depend on whether an official diplomatic mission has been already set up in the sending country or not. For example in the US, Poland has an embassy, three consulates and 19 honorary consuls.