Odaily Planet Daily report: Radosław Piesiewicz, President of the Polish Olympic Committee, has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a bribery case related to the cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto; prosecutors are currently investigating whether he received financial benefits from the exchange’s executives.
Poland’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Waldemar Żurek, confirmed the arrest and stated that more information will be released after the interrogation is completed. The prosecution has not yet formally disclosed specific charges.
According to a joint investigation by Polish media Wirtualna Polska and TVN24, Przemysław Kral, CEO of Zondacrypto, is suspected of gifting a Patek Philippe watch worth approximately €40,000 (about $46,600) and other gifts to Piszewicz in exchange for assistance in resolving regulatory issues the exchange faced in Poland.
Pisewicz denied receiving gifts, stating that the watch was purchased outright with his own cash, and Klar only assisted in arranging the purchase. Prosecutors said the watch will be included as part of the investigation. Zondacrypto became the general sponsor of the Polish Olympic Committee in October last year, with both parties signing a cooperation agreement covering 2026 to 2028. Meanwhile, the exchange is also facing broader investigations into fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors previously stated that Zondacrypto was suspected of long-term inaccessibility to cold wallets storing approximately 4,500 bitcoins, with estimated user losses of at least 350 million PLN (approximately $94 million). As of June, authorities had received over 3,600 complaints and frozen more than 100 million PLN in funds for potential restitution. The investigation has been consolidated with the 2022 disappearance case of Sylwester Suszek, founder of Zondacrypto’s predecessor, BitBay. (CoinDesk)