Polish Olympic Head Arrested on Charges Tied to Zondacrypto Collapse

Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, has been arrested and charged in connection with the collapse of the crypto exchange Zondacrypto. Poland’s Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek confirmed the arrest on Aug. 27, saying prosecutors charged Piesiewicz under Articles 230 and 302 of the criminal code. The charges cover paid influence and preferential treatment of one group of creditors while insolvency was approaching.

Prosecutors suspect that Piesiewicz received inside information that allowed him to withdraw his entire investment before other customers could access their funds, according to a report by Wirtualna Polska citing TVN24. The second charge alleges Piesiewicz offered to use his political contacts to help Zondacrypto with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Piesiewicz rejected both accusations after questioning, describing himself as a victim of the exchange and denying he received preferential treatment, Polish media reported.

The investigation extends beyond the withdrawal. The same media outlets reported that former Zondacrypto chief Przemysław Kral bought a Patek Philippe Calatrava watch for €40,000 in November 2025, nine days before meeting Piesiewicz at a hotel in Monaco. The invoice carried Kral’s name and private address. Piesiewicz later sent messages thanking Kral and saying he was shocked, though the messages did not directly refer to the watch. Piesiewicz maintains he paid for it in cash and that Kral only arranged the purchase.

The relationship between Piesiewicz and Kral began during sponsorship talks in spring 2025, according to the joint investigation. By October, Zondacrypto had become the Polish Olympic Committee’s general sponsor under a 2026-2028 agreement. The sponsorship included renaming the Olympic Center in Warsaw the Zondacrypto Olympic Center of the Polish Olympic Committee and a plan to give crypto rewards to athletes at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The media investigation also alleged that Kral provided Piesiewicz with tickets, travel for people close to him, and hotel arrangements. Prosecutors have not publicly confirmed each reported benefit or said which items form part of the formal charges.

The case against Piesiewicz is one piece of a larger criminal probe opened by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice on April 17. Authorities are examining suspected fraud against Zondacrypto customers and possible money laundering connected to activity dating from 2022. Estimated customer losses stand at no less than 350 million zlotys, about $94 million. By June, prosecutors had received more than 3,600 complaints and secured over 100 million zlotys that may later be used for compensation.

Zondacrypto’s website went offline on April 23 after customers reported delayed withdrawals and frozen balances, as crypto.news reported in August. The exchange-linked ZND token lost nearly all its market value, with no active trading pairs or reported volume. The exchange’s owner told prosecutors that Zondacrypto had lacked access since 2022 to a cold wallet believed to hold about 4,500 Bitcoin (Bitcoin profile). Customers had not been told about the loss of access. Kral previously denied insolvency, saying researchers examined only visible hot wallets. No independent proof of reserves was published.

In July, authorities merged the Zondacrypto inquiry with an investigation into the March 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, who founded BitBay before it was renamed Zondacrypto. Prosecutors said the two cases share links involving the people and activities under review.

No U.S. agency has announced charges or identified American customer losses in the Zondacrypto case. Direct exposure for U.S. users remains unconfirmed. FinCEN guidance says businesses accepting and transmitting convertible virtual currency may need to register as money services businesses and follow anti-money laundering rules, including when the operator is based outside the country.

The collapse has also become part of Poland’s dispute over implementing the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the crypto bill for a third time in June, arguing the proposed powers and requirements needed further changes. The rejected measure would have given Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority licensing, reporting, and enforcement powers over crypto service providers, along with criminal penalties for serious violations. ESMA register data showed Poland among five EU countries with no MiCA licenses recorded as of June 29, while Germany had 57 and France 26.