Polish Olympic Committee President Arrested in Bribery Investigation Involving Crypto Exchange, Case Linked to Zondacrypto

2026-08-27 16:17

Odaily News: Polish Olympic Committee President Radosław Piesiewicz has been arrested in connection with an investigation into undisclosed benefits tied to cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto. Prosecutors are currently investigating whether he received financial benefits from executives of the exchange.

Poland's Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, Waldemar Żurek, confirmed the arrest and stated that more information would be released after the interrogation is completed. Formal charges have not yet been announced by the prosecution.

According to a joint investigation by Polish media outlets Wirtualna Polska and TVN24, Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral is suspected of gifting Piesiewicz a Patek Philippe watch valued at approximately €40,000 (around $46,600), along with other gifts, in exchange for his assistance in resolving regulatory issues the exchange faced with Poland's competition authority.

Piesiewicz has denied receiving the gifts, claiming that he purchased the watch himself with cash, with Kral merely assisting in arranging the purchase process. Prosecutors stated that the watch will be part of the investigation. Zondacrypto became the main 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 have previously stated that Zondacrypto is suspected of being unable to access cold wallets containing approximately 4,500 bitcoins for an extended period, with estimated user losses of at least 350 million zloty (around $94 million). As of June, authorities had received over 3,600 complaints and frozen over 100 million zloty in funds for potential compensation. The investigation has been merged with the case concerning the disappearance in 2022 of Sylwester Suszek, founder of BitBay, the predecessor of Zondacrypto. (CoinDesk)