Polish prosecutors detained Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), on bribery charges linked to the collapsed crypto exchange Zondacrypto. The attorney general’s office confirmed the arrest Thursday.
The accusation: Piesiewicz took bribes in exchange for sponsorship deals, per Euro.news reporting carried by The Block. That connects one of the most powerful men in Polish sport to a digital-asset firm already mired in political controversy.
A joint investigation by Polish outlets TVN24 and Wirtualna Polska reported that Zondacrypto’s chief executive gave Piesiewicz a watch valued at over $40,000. Piesiewicz has said he purchased it himself, with cash. The name of the Zondacrypto CEO was not reported.
That part is disputed on the record.
The bribery probe arrives as Zondacrypto’s business unravels. The exchange collapsed in April after a liquidity crisis. Earlier this year, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the firm of ties to the Russian mafia and the secret service, The Block reported at the time. Tusk also said Zondacrypto sponsored a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event in Poland last year.
“The Prosecutor’s Office will provide further information after the completion of proceedings involving him, conducted at the Silesian Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office,” Poland’s Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek wrote in a post on X.
Sport and Tourism Minister Jakub Rutnicki went further. “We’ve been talking about this for months, and the sports community is also speaking out about it,” Rutnicki wrote on X. “Piesiewicz has disgraced Polish Olympism and exploited the image of Polish athletes. We are awaiting information from the prosecutor’s office.” Rutnicki added that Piesiewicz “should never have been the president of the PKOl.”
The investigation also raises questions about how crypto prizes reached Olympic athletes. Under the alleged arrangement, Winter Olympics medalists in February would have received prizes denominated in cryptocurrency, Euro.news reported. How those prizes were funded, and whether any were actually paid, is not specified in the reporting.
The case stands as one of the more conspicuous instances of a crypto-industry figure facing corruption charges in Europe. The precise criminal statutes invoked have not been disclosed. Piesiewicz’s status beyond “detained” remains unclear. The Block did not report any statement from Zondacrypto or its executives. The exchange has not appeared to respond publicly to the allegations.
What is not yet known: the exact charges, whether the Zondacrypto CEO has been formally charged or detained, and whether the watch is in the possession of investigators. The Silesian Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office is handling the proceedings.
