TL;DR:
- Officers from the Central Cybercrime Bureau arrested the president of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), Radosław Piesiewicz, on August 27, 2026, in Warsaw.
- The National Prosecutor’s Office of Poland is investigating the alleged receipt of gifts, including a luxury watch valued at €40,000, allegedly handed over by Zondacrypto executives.
- The criminal case estimates direct financial damages of no less than 350 million PLN (approximately $94 million) following the collapse of the crypto platform.
The Polish Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of the president of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz. The arrest warrant was issued amid a criminal investigation into alleged corruption linked to the Zondacrypto exchange.
The Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, Waldemar Żurek, confirmed the arrest on Thursday, August 27. According to the judicial report, the procedure stems from alleged improper financial benefits associated with sponsorship contracts signed between the sports body and the digital asset company.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Piesiewicz accepted high-value assets from the platform’s former CEO, Przemysław Kral. Among the items highlighted in reports by Wirtualna Polska and TVN24 is a Patek Philippe watch valued at €40,000, along with luxury travel and accommodation.
For his part, the sports official stated to local media that he purchased the item with his own cash. However, documentation presented by the press reveals only an invoice under Kral’s name dated November 2025.
Scope of the Financial Collapse and Legal Actions
The criminal case led by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice formally began on April 17, 2026. The probe addresses alleged offenses of large-scale fraud and money laundering.
According to data from the Polish Prosecutor’s Office, the platform halted access to a cold wallet containing approximately 4,500 Bitcoin. This operational freeze led to the definitive shutdown of the portal during the final week of April 2026.
Estonian regulatory authorities suspended the parent company’s operating license in May 2026 and formally revoked it on June 29, 2026. The native ZND token suffered a value loss of over 99.9% following the closure of the service.
Court records indicate that more than 3,600 users have filed formal complaints to date. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that over 100 million PLN has been secured for potential compensation schemes for affected users.
The partnership between the PKOl and the exchange included sponsorship agreements running through 2028 and the distribution of token bonuses to medalists of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games. That reward payout never materialized in a usable form before the company ceased operations.
The formal interrogation of Piesiewicz at the Katowice Prosecutor’s Office headquarters is scheduled to conclude in the coming hours. The hearing will determine whether authorities file formal charges or request pre-trial detention before the competent court.
