Polish Olympic Committee president detained in Zondacrypto bribery probe

Aug 27, 2026

Polish Olympic Committee President Radosław Piesiewicz was detained on August 27, 2026, in a bribery probe involving the failed cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto. Prosecutors are investigating whether Piesiewicz accepted a €40,000 Patek Philippe watch from Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral to lobby regulators. Zondacrypto collapsed in April 2026, leaving customers with over 350 million zlotys (€81.4 million) in losses and leaving Winter Olympic medalists without promised cryptocurrency bonuses.

Piesiewicz bribery detention

▪Polish Olympic Committee President Radosław Piesiewicz was detained on August 27, 2026, as part of a bribery investigation involving the failed digital asset platform Zondacrypto
▪Poland Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed Radosław Piesiewicz's detention and stated that the Silesian Department of the National Prosecutor's Office is conducting the proceedings
▪Poland Sport and Tourism Minister Jakub Rutnicki stated on X that Radosław Piesiewicz disgraced Polish Olympism, exploited the image of athletes, and should never have been the president of the Polish Olympic Committee

Patek Philippe watch allegations

▪Radosław Piesiewicz denied receiving the Patek Philippe watch as a gift, asserting that he paid for it in cash and that Przemysław Kral only assisted in arranging the purchase
▪A joint investigation by TVN24 and Wirtualna Polska alleged that Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral gave Radosław Piesiewicz a Patek Philippe watch worth approximately €40,000 to secure lobbying with Poland's consumer protection watchdog, UOKiK

Zondacrypto exchange collapse

▪The Zondacrypto investigation was merged in July 2026 with a probe into the 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, the founder of Zondacrypto's predecessor BitBay
▪Polish prosecutors opened a broader investigation into Zondacrypto in April 2026 over suspected large-scale fraud and money laundering
▪Zondacrypto collapsed in April 2026 after suffering a liquidity crisis and ceasing to honor customer withdrawals

Customer losses exceeding €81M

▪Polish authorities secured more than 100 million zlotys for potential customer compensation after receiving over 3,600 complaints by June 2026
▪Polish prosecutors estimate that Zondacrypto customer losses stand at no less than 350 million zlotys, equivalent to approximately €81.4 million or $94 million
▪Zondacrypto's owner acknowledged that the exchange had lacked access to a cold wallet holding approximately 4,500 bitcoin for several years

Unpaid Olympic cryptocurrency bonuses

▪Under Radosław Piesiewicz, the Polish Olympic Committee signed a sponsorship deal making Zondacrypto the main sponsor of Poland's team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy
▪Olympic medalists at the February 2026 Winter Olympics were promised cryptocurrency prize awards, but those bonuses were never paid following Zondacrypto's collapse

Russian organized crime links

▪Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Zondacrypto of having ties to Russian organized crime and secret services, and noted that Monaco opened a money-laundering case into the firm
▪Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Zondacrypto of funneling money to opposition figures to sabotage his government's cryptocurrency legislation, which was vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki