Polish prosecutors have charged Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), in an investigation linked to cryptocurrency exchange ZondaCrypto. The allegations concern alleged influence peddling in proceedings before Poland’s competition authority and actions that investigators say may have harmed the company’s creditors. Piesiewicz has denied the charges.
Piesiewicz was detained on August 27, 2026, by officers of the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime. The case is being handled by the Silesian branch of the Department for Organised Crime and Corruption of Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office.
The case is part of a much broader investigation surrounding ZondaCrypto and people connected with the exchange.
Prosecutors allege influence peddling involving UOKiK
One of the charges concerns events from 2025. According to prosecutors, Piesiewicz allegedly claimed that he could use his contacts to influence proceedings conducted by Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, known as UOKiK.
Investigators say he referred to his relationship with a former Polish prime minister as evidence of his influence. In exchange for taking action in the case, he was allegedly promised a watch worth PLN 169,476.
The proceedings before UOKiK concerned ZondaCrypto and BB Trade Estonia OÜ, the company operating the cryptocurrency platform. Prosecutors have classified this part of the case as alleged paid influence peddling.
PLN 194,000 and EUR 100,000 withdrawn
The second allegation concerns money withdrawn from the company in April 2026. According to the prosecution, Piesiewicz allegedly persuaded a member of the management board of BB Trade Estonia OÜ to transfer funds while the company was facing the risk of insolvency or bankruptcy.
Investigators point to two transactions. On April 7, PLN 194,420.15 was withdrawn. A day later, another EUR 100,000 was transferred.
Prosecutors believe these actions could have placed other creditors of the company in a worse position, including customers who kept assets or funds on the ZondaCrypto platform.
Piesiewicz had previously said he was a ZondaCrypto victim
The latest allegations add a new dimension to Piesiewicz’s earlier public account of his relationship with ZondaCrypto. In an April 2026 interview with RMF FM, the Polish Olympic Committee president said he had personally invested through the exchange and had lost around PLN 1 million. He described himself as an injured party and said he had trusted the company because he had been shown that it was operating properly.
During the same interview, Piesiewicz defended the Polish Olympic Committee’s decision to sign a sponsorship agreement with ZondaCrypto, saying the deal had been concluded in good faith and that due diligence had been carried out before the partnership was established.
He returned to that argument in August, after media reports raised questions about his contacts with ZondaCrypto chief Przemysław Kral. Speaking on Telewizja Republika, Piesiewicz said he had also been deceived and had put EUR 200,000 into ZondaCrypto. He presented himself as one of the people financially harmed by the exchange and rejected suggestions that his earlier relationship with the company meant he should bear responsibility for its collapse.
This earlier account is significant in light of the prosecution’s current case. Investigators now allege that in April 2026 Piesiewicz was involved in obtaining PLN 194,420.15 and EUR 100,000 from BB Trade Estonia OÜ at a time when the company was facing the threat of insolvency or bankruptcy. The allegation does not by itself establish guilt, and Piesiewicz has denied committing the offences.
Search at the Polish Olympic Committee
The detention was accompanied by searches at several locations, including Piesiewicz’s home and the headquarters of the Polish Olympic Committee in Warsaw.
According to the National Prosecutor’s Office, officers secured a watch, a mobile phone and cash in Polish and foreign currencies worth around PLN 34,000.
Piesiewicz was questioned as a suspect. He did not admit to committing the alleged offences and provided extensive explanations. He is represented by a lawyer.
Prosecutors sought pre-trial detention
The prosecution subsequently asked the court to place Piesiewicz in pre-trial detention for three months, citing the risk of interference with the investigation and the severity of the potential sentence.
At this stage, the accusations remain allegations made by prosecutors. Piesiewicz is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty by a final court judgment.
A wider ZondaCrypto investigation
The latest charges form part of a much larger investigation into ZondaCrypto. One strand concerns the disappearance and alleged unlawful deprivation of liberty of Sylwester Suszek, the former CEO and co-founder of BitBay, which later operated under the Zonda brand.
Another investigation concerns allegations that customers may have been misled about the purchase and storage of cryptocurrencies through ZondaCrypto. Prosecutors are examining whether users suffered financial losses as a result.
In July 2026, the different strands of the investigation were combined. The proceedings remain ongoing and investigators continue to collect evidence.
