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 had provided financial support to politicians who opposed the regulation of the crypto market.
Tusk's comments were made prior to a parliamentary vote on overturning President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law, according to a report by AP. The exchange, which has ties to Russia, has been accused of influencing lawmakers. This development comes a day after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to alleviate concerns about the company's financial health by disclosing the existence of a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million. However, Kral revealed that the company is unable to access the funds due to the previous owner's failure to hand over the private key, and the former CEO's subsequent disappearance.
Kral attributed the delayed customer withdrawals to an unusually high volume of requests and the implementation of new security measures, which necessitated manual verification of transactions. The situation has sparked a wider debate about the company's activities, with some analysts pointing to a significant decline in the exchange's bitcoin balances in hot wallets. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto has been ongoing, with previous allegations including links to criminal activity and unauthorized financial operations.
An investigation into the company's owner, BB Trade Estonia, is currently underway, focusing on potential violations of consumer interests.