The President of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz, was officially detained on August 27, 2026, in connection with the bankrupt crypto exchange Zondacrypto. Polish Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed the arrest following a series of interrogations at the Silesian branch of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Piesiewicz faces two charges. Article 230 charges him with alleged influence peddling, while Article 302 addresses his actions in prioritizing a specific group of creditors as the company approached insolvency.
Investigators suspect Piesiewicz possessed insider information that allowed him to withdraw all of his investments from Zondacrypto. He exited just before the platform halted customer withdrawals.
In exchange, Piesiewicz is accused of offering his connections to help resolve Zondacrypto’s issues with the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
The Patek Philippe Trail in Monaco
A joint investigation by media outlets Wirtualna Polska and TVN24 uncovered new findings behind this relationship. Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral reportedly purchased a €40,000 Patek Philippe Calatrava watch in November 2025 - nine days before meeting Piesiewicz at a hotel in Monaco.
The receipt was registered under Kral’s name. Piesiewicz later sent a thank-you message expressing surprise at receiving the watch, but now denies it was a gift and claims he paid for it in cash.
Their collaboration escalated to an official partnership. Zondacrypto became a general sponsor of the Polish Olympic Committee for the 2026-2028 period, while the Warsaw Olympic Center was renamed the Zondacrypto Olympic Center.
Piesiewicz has denied all allegations, calling himself a victim of the crypto exchange.
$94 Million in Losses Since 2022
Zondacrypto went offline on April 23, 2026, following reports of withdrawal delays, which caused the ZND token to plummet to near zero. Customer losses are estimated at a minimum of 350 million zlotys, or approximately $94 million. More than 3,600 complaints have been filed, and authorities have secured 100 million zlotys for compensation so far.
The owners claim the company lost access to a cold wallet holding around 4,500 Bitcoin back in 2022. This fact was never disclosed to customers.
The Katowice Regional Prosecutor opened a criminal investigation on April 17 over alleged customer fraud and money laundering. In July, the case was merged with the investigation into the March 2022 disappearance of Zondacrypto and BitBay founder Sylwester Suszek.
Piesiewicz’s claim of being a victim will be tested in court. But for the 3,600 customers whose funds vanished, that defense clashes with the fact that the official had the privilege to rescue all of his assets before the exchange closed its doors.
Reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
