Polish Olympic chief arrested in crypto scandal

The head of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz, has been detained as part of a fraud investigation into the collapse of cryptocurrency platform Zondacrypto, which had links to Poland’s right-wing opposition.

Piesiewicz was arrested on August 27 in a probe into alleged bribes connected to a sponsorship deal with Zondacrypto, which stopped trading in April after investors lost at least 350 million zlotys ($81 million), Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He is the first prominent person to be arrested in the scandal, which has also become a political issue after the Polish-run, Estonia-registered platform funded right-wing events, foundations and media. Zondacrypto had reported 1.3 million registered users before its collapse.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has sought to link the company to organised crime and Russia, as well as the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed Poland until 2023 and still controls the presidency.

Investigators initially examined whether Zondacrypto had misled investors before entering bankruptcy proceedings. They later turned their attention to personal gifts allegedly received by Piesiewicz from the company, including a Swiss luxury watch worth 40,000 euros, according to Poland’s justice minister. Piesiewicz has denied wrongdoing.

Zondacrypto sponsored Poland’s first Conservative Political Action Conference ahead of last year’s presidential election, which was won by PiS candidate Karol Nawrocki. At the event, Nawrocki received an endorsement from then-US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem.

Tusk has also criticised Nawrocki, who has vetoed government legislation, including measures aimed at regulating Poland’s cryptocurrency market in line with EU rules.

The prime minister has highlighted Zondacrypto’s sponsorship of PiS-linked events and financial support for foundations run by politicians from the party, including former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro.

The platform also funded advertising on TV Republika, a prominent right-wing news channel. The broadcaster’s majority shareholder, Tomasz Sakiewicz, has denied wrongdoing, saying the channel had a regular advertising agreement with Zondacrypto.

Tusk has also accused Zondacrypto of receiving Russian money, although he provided no evidence. Poland’s justice minister later suggested the funding could have come from Russian criminal gangs, a claim that prosecutors have not corroborated and which people linked to Zondacrypto deny.

In June, Nawrocki vetoed a third attempt by Tusk’s government to introduce new cryptocurrency market rules, warning that excessive regulation could drive the market out of Poland. Tusk has linked the president’s opposition to Zondacrypto’s support for PiS.

Nawrocki has said he vetoed the legislation before the Zondacrypto scandal emerged and argued that the government should be held responsible for failing to detect problems at a platform used by many Poles.

Zondacrypto chief executive Przemysław Kral, who was in charge when the platform collapsed, has denied wrongdoing. He said the company faced liquidity problems and could not keep up with withdrawal requests because of what he described as a politically motivated campaign against it.

Poland’s sports minister, Jakub Rutnicki, welcomed Piesiewicz’s arrest, saying on X that he should never have been president of the Polish Olympic Committee.

By Aghakazim Guliyev