Poland charges fifth suspect in $94 million Zondacrypto fraud probe

Sep 7, 2026

Polish authorities have charged Roman Ż., a former business partner of missing founder Sylwester Suszek, as the fifth suspect in the collapse of crypto exchange Zondacrypto. The Katowice court ordered Roman Ż. detained over fears he would flee to China. The wider investigation, which has merged with the inquiry into Suszek's 2022 disappearance, involves estimated customer losses of $94 million and allegations of an organized criminal group siphoning exchange assets.

Roman Ż. fraud charges

▪Roman Ż. denied the charges of fraud and organized crime membership and provided investigators with an extensive account of his actions
▪Polish prosecutors charged Roman Ż., a former business partner of Zondacrypto founder Sylwester Suszek, with membership in an organized criminal group and misappropriating 7.8 million złoty ($2.1 million) in client funds
▪The Katowice-East District Court ordered Roman Ż. held in pretrial detention following his arrest on September 5, 2026, in Poland's Silesia region due to concerns he might flee to China

Zondacrypto collapse losses

▪Zondacrypto stopped trading in April 2026 and its website went dark on April 23, 2026, after customers experienced frozen or delayed withdrawals starting in late February 2026
▪The collapse of the Zondacrypto exchange left customers facing estimated losses of at least 350 million złoty ($94 million), with authorities receiving over 3,600 complaints by mid-2026
▪Polish prosecutors froze approximately 4 million euros held in a French bank account and over 100 million złoty overall for potential future victim compensation

Sylwester Suszek disappearance investigation

▪Polish prosecutors merged the Zondacrypto fraud investigation with the inquiry into the March 2022 disappearance of the exchange's founder, Sylwester Suszek, to help establish his whereabouts
▪Suspect Anna P. is accused of obstructing the investigation into Sylwester Suszek's deprivation of liberty by removing a hard drive from a filling station's CCTV recorder and inciting false testimony
▪Przemysław Kral, who took over as Zondacrypto chief executive after Sylwester Suszek disappeared, has not been seen since April 16, 2026, after telling customers only Suszek could unlock 4,500 BTC

Organized crime group allegations

▪Suspects Anna P., Jaromira W., and Rafał Z. were placed in pretrial detention on September 4, 2026, over allegations including laundering 7.5 million złoty and misappropriating 1.7 million złoty
▪Prosecutors allege an organized criminal group operated from 2020 to 2026 to take control of Sylwester Suszek's assets and misappropriated Zondacrypto user funds by making unauthorized changes to computer data
▪Polish Olympic Committee president Radosław Piesiewicz was charged in late August 2026 with paid protection and favoring certain Zondacrypto creditors over others as insolvency loomed

BitBay regulatory history

▪Zondacrypto was founded in Katowice, Poland, in 2014 as BitBay by Sylwester Suszek and rebranded in 2021 after shifting its registration to Estonia under parent company BB Trade Estonia OÜ
▪Estonia's financial intelligence unit revoked the operating license of BB Trade Estonia OÜ, the entity behind Zondacrypto, on June 29, 2026

Debatable claims

▪Radosław Piesiewicz should resign as president of the Polish Olympic Committee
▪The EU should restrict crypto firms from shifting registrations to countries with weaker regulatory oversight