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🇷🇴 Romania /Elections & Politics

Zondacrypto collapse puts Poland’s conservatives under pressure before elections amid Russia-linked allegations

From Adevărul · () Romanian

Translated from Romanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Under investigation
  • Polish prosecutors are investigating alleged fraud and money laundering linked to Zondacrypto, with estimated losses of at least 2.4 billion zlotys, or more than 535 million euros.
  • The platform sponsored conservative groups, including the Law and Justice party, CPAC events in Poland and broadcaster Republika.
  • Prime Minister Donald Tusk linked the case to the disappearance of founder Sylwester Suszek and alleged Russian mafia money and intelligence influence, while investigators pursue corruption allegations.

The collapse of Zondacrypto has turned a cryptocurrency scandal into a political problem for Poland’s conservatives. Thousands of customers have lost access to their funds, while prosecutors estimate the damage linked to the platform at least 2.4 billion zlotys, more than 535 million euros.

Zondacrypto began operating in 2014 as BitBay. Its founder, Sylwester Suszek, disappeared in 2022 in circumstances that remain unclear. The company’s current director, Przemysław Kral, has been charged with fraud and is reportedly cooperating with investigators.

Polish authorities are also examining alleged corruption. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime detained Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, on suspicion that he accepted bribes and valuable gifts from the platform’s management. The allegations remain under investigation and do not amount to convictions.

It is linked to the disappearance or possible death of the company’s founder, Russian mafia money and the influence of Russian intelligence services.

· Donald TuskThe Polish prime minister described the suspected Russian links and unresolved disappearance surrounding the Zondacrypto case.

The case has acquired a political dimension because Zondacrypto financed conservative organizations and media. It supported the organization of the American conservative CPAC conference in Poland and sponsored the Republika television channel. Its most prominent documented political support reportedly went to the Law and Justice party, or PiS.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the case was linked to “the disappearance or possible death of the company’s founder, Russian mafia money and the influence of Russian intelligence services.” People connected to the investigation include former Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro, who left for the United States, and his former deputy Marcin Romanowski, whom authorities say is evading the investigation. The current government said it would examine why prosecutors under Ziobro handled the founder’s disappearance so ineffectively and failed to resolve the case.

We will examine why the prosecution service led by Mr Ziobro investigated the disappearance of the Zondacrypto founder so ineffectively, without the case being resolved.

· Polish government representativeThe government said it would review how the earlier investigation was handled.
About this summary

Originally published by Adevărul in Romanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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