Polish Olympic Committee Head Detained in Zondacrypto Bribery Probe

Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, has been arrested over suspected involvement in a bribery case linked to crypto exchange Zondacrypto, as prosecutors examine whether he received financial benefits from company executives. Poland's Justice Minister and Attorney General Waldemar Żurek confirmed the detention, saying further details would be released after questioning. Prosecutors have not yet announced formal charges. A joint investigation by Polish outlets Wirtualna Polska and TVN24 alleges that Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral provided Piesiewicz with a Patek Philippe watch valued at about €40,000 (around $46,600) and other gifts, in exchange for support in addressing regulatory issues the exchange faced in Poland. Piesiewicz denied accepting gifts, saying he bought the watch himself with cash and that Kral only helped arrange the purchase. Prosecutors said the watch will be included in the case. Zondacrypto became the Polish Olympic Committee's general sponsor in October last year, with the two sides signing a cooperation agreement covering 2026–2028. The exchange is also under wider scrutiny for alleged fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors have previously said Zondacrypto was suspected of prolonged inaccessibility to cold wallets holding roughly 4,500 bitcoins, with estimated user losses of at least 350 million PLN (about $94 million). As of June, authorities had received more than 3,600 complaints and frozen over 100 million PLN for potential restitution. The investigation has been consolidated with the 2022 disappearance case of Sylwester Suszek, founder of BitBay, the predecessor to Zondacrypto. (CoinDesk)