Poland's Olympic Committee President Arrested in Crypto Bribery Investigation

Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, has been arrested as part of an investigation involving crypto exchange Zondacrypto, with prosecutors looking into whether he received a financial benefit from the exchange's head. Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed the arrest, saying more details would be provided after Piesiewicz is questioned. As of publication, prosecutors had not announced formal charges. Polish media have reported allegations that Piesiewicz accepted bribes tied to the exchange. A joint report by Wirtualna Polska and TVN24 said Zondacrypto chief Przemysław Kral allegedly gave Piesiewicz a Patek Philippe watch valued at about 40,000 euros ($46,600), along with other gifts, in exchange for support related to Zondacrypto's issues with Poland's competition regulator. Piesiewicz denied receiving the watch as a gift, stating he paid cash for it and that Kral only assisted in arranging the purchase. Żurek said the watch is among the items prosecutors will review. Zondacrypto became the Olympic committee's general sponsor in October under a deal covering 2026 through 2028. Prosecutors said this week they are examining a possible financial benefit for Piesiewicz, alongside several other payments and financing relationships involving the exchange. The wider probe opened in April over suspected fraud and money laundering at Zondacrypto. Prosecutors said the exchange's owner admitted it had for years lacked access to a cold wallet holding about 4,500 bitcoin, with estimated customer losses of at least 350 million zlotys ($94 million). Authorities reported receiving more than 3,600 complaints by June and said they have secured over 100 million zlotys for potential compensation. Last month, investigators merged the case with a separate probe into the 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, founder of BitBay, Zondacrypto's predecessor. Neither the Polish Olympic Committee nor Zondacrypto responded to CoinDesk's request for comment by publication.