Polish Olympic Chief Arrested in Zondacrypto Crypto Probe

Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, has been arrested as part of an investigation linked to cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto, with prosecutors examining whether he received financial benefits from the company’s leadership.

Polish Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed Piesiewicz’s arrest, saying additional details would be released after questioning. Prosecutors had not announced formal charges at the time of publication.

The investigation follows reports by Wirtualna Polska and TVN24 alleging that Zondacrypto chief Przemysław Kral provided Piesiewicz with a Patek Philippe watch valued at roughly 40,000 euros ($46,600), along with other benefits. The reports claimed the gifts were connected to assistance involving the crypto exchange’s issues with Poland’s competition regulator.

Piesiewicz has denied receiving the watch as a gift. He said he purchased it with cash and that Kral merely helped facilitate the transaction. Żurek said prosecutors would examine the circumstances surrounding the watch.

Zondacrypto became a general sponsor of the Polish Olympic Committee in October under an agreement covering 2026 through 2028. Authorities are investigating a possible financial benefit provided to Piesiewicz as well as other payments and financing arrangements involving the exchange.

The case is part of a broader investigation launched in April into suspected fraud and money laundering at Zondacrypto. Prosecutors said the exchange’s owner acknowledged that the company had lacked access for years to a cold wallet containing about 4,500 Bitcoin. Estimated customer losses have reached at least 350 million zlotys, or approximately $94 million.

By June, Polish authorities had received more than 3,600 complaints related to the exchange and secured over 100 million zlotys that could potentially be used to compensate affected customers.

The Zondacrypto investigation was also merged last month with a probe into the 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, founder of BitBay, the exchange that preceded Zondacrypto.

Neither Zondacrypto nor the Polish Olympic Committee had publicly commented on Piesiewicz’s arrest at the time of publication.