Poland's Prime Minister Accuses Zondacrypto of Influencing Legislation

The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of customers experiencing frozen or delayed withdrawals, the company has come under fire from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who alleged that Zondacrypto sponsored politicians to block crypto market regulation. Tusk's comments were made ahead of a parliamentary vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the legislation. The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers, according to Tusk. In a bid to address allegations that the company is misusing investor funds, Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral revealed that the exchange holds a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million. However, the company is unable to access these funds due to a missing private key, which was not handed over by the previous CEO, Sylwester Suszek, when he left the company in 2021. Suszek has been missing for four years. Kral denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the exchange remains profitable, attributing the situation to a broader campaign against the company, including political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto has been ongoing, with the company facing reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals since late March. An analysis by blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. The company has a history of controversy, including being placed on Poland's Financial Supervision Authority's public warning list in 2019 for unauthorized financial activities. In 2024, an investigative report identified a shareholder with a criminal record, and in 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection launched an investigation into Zonda's owner, BB Trade Estonia, for violating consumer interests. Kral has attributed reports of declining reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' and claimed that the company is stable, solvent, and secure. The wallet presented as proof of reserves has seen minimal recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and only 32 receiving transactions. The parliamentary vote to overturn the presidential veto ultimately failed, with 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, falling short of the required majority.