On Saturday afternoon, the police detained Roman Ż. in connection with the Zondacrypto investigation; the services secured, among others, documentation related to the stock exchange - the police reported on Saturday evening. A source close to the Ministry of Justice told PAP that Roman Ż. is a former partner of Sylwester Suszek, the missing founder of the BitBay cryptocurrency exchange, the predecessor of Zondacrypto.
About the arrest of Roman Ż. in addition to the police, they also informed, among others, Minister of Justice, Attorney General Waldemar Żurek.
"In the investigation regarding ZondaCrypto, at the request of the prosecutor's office, CBZC and Police officers detained Roman Ż." - Żurek wrote on the X platform, adding a statement from the prosecutor's office to his entry.
Bogucki: Unbelievable...
Zbigniew Bogucki, the head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, commented on Żurek's entry on the X platform.
"Incredibly, with these actions, Mr. Waldemar Żurek and this government team firmly confirm that I was completely right when, on December 5, 2025, I told them in the Sejm that they have legal instruments in the form of the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the Act on counteracting money laundering and terrorism financing, allowing for the effective prosecution of perpetrators and combating crimes on the crypto-assets market," Bogucki wrote in an entry on the platform overnight from Saturday to Sunday. X
In his entry, the head of the KPRP asked the Minister of Justice why the investigation into the Zondacrypto case was initiated "only on April 17, 2026, more than 4 months after the December closed session of the Sejm." “Why were two previous investigations into the Zonda case discontinued under your government - one in 2024 and the other in 2025?” - he added.
Bogucki about the bill that the president would sign
Bogucki assessed that after the change of government, the actions of the current government regarding crimes on the cryptocurrency market may become the subject of criminal proceedings. "But instead of doing this and taking care of the security of Poland and Poles, they preferred to make political noise," Bogucki accused the government.
According to the head of the KPRP, "you can act despite the lack of a law on cryptoassets." "However, if Prime Minister Donald Tusk decided to resign from submitting the same act again with the stubbornness of a maniac and took into account President Nawrocki's valid comments in the next draft, the next session of the Sejm could also adopt the act on the crypto-assets market, which the President would sign," Bogucki said in the post.
Detention of Roman Ż.
About the arrest of Roman Ż. the police announced in a Saturday evening message on - transferred.
"During the search, the police seized valuable watches and documentation related to Zondacrypto. After completing the arrest activities, the man will be taken to the prosecutor's office," it added.
The press secretary of the Prosecutor General, Prosecutor Anna Adamiak, said that until the arrest of Roman Ż. occurred due to a well-founded fear of escape. As she informed, on the prosecutor's order, the officers searched the place of Roman Ż's arrest. and his place of residence. "Roman Ż. will be brought to the Silesian Branch Department of the PZ in Katowice in order to carry out activities with his participation, including the announcement of the decision to present charges and interrogation as a suspect. Further information will be provided after the activities involving Roman Ż. are completed." - she wrote.
On Saturday, the head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Jan Grabiec, said in an interview with TVN24 that an intensive investigation into Zondacrypto is ongoing, and further information "is a matter of hours and the coming days." Putting all these elements together, also based on official data from the prosecutor's office, will be possible in the coming days, Grabiec added.
Zondacrypto investigation
An investigation into Zondacrypto was initiated by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice in April for fraud of significant value and money laundering. So far, several thousand crime reports have been received. In August, the investigation into Zondacrypto was combined with the investigation into the murder of Sylwester Suszka, which is being conducted by the branch of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice.
Sylwester Suszek went missing in March 2022. He was last seen at a gas station belonging to Marian W. alias. “Maniek.”
Suszek's successor was Przemysław Kral - currently a key figure in the investigation into the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. At the end of August, the media reported that Kral was cooperating with the prosecutor's office in order to obtain the status of the so-called minor crown witness (a person with this status may benefit from extraordinary leniency for crimes committed together with others, provided that he cooperates with law enforcement authorities). The businessman is represented in the investigation by lawyers Roman Giertych and Jacek Dubois. According to Giertych, during the proceedings, Kral placed assets at the disposal of the prosecutor's office to satisfy the claims of the injured parties.
As part of the investigation, the president of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz, was detained and arrested. He was charged with paid patronage and satisfying a group of Zondacrypto creditors to the detriment of other people in connection with the cryptocurrency exchange's looming insolvency. He pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday, the police detained three more people as part of the investigation, they were charged, and on Friday they were arrested. Stock exchange investor Rafał Z was brought to the branch of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice. According to the media, he was connected with the missing Sylwester Suszek and his stock exchange. Two other people are Jaromira W. and Anna P. The first is the former wife of Marian W. alias Maniek, the main suspect in the disappearance of Suszek. The second one is his close colleague.
The Act on the Crypto-Assets Market was to implement the EU MiCa regulation (The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) regulating this market throughout the Community. The government submitted regulations in this regard three times, and the president vetoed them three times. Karol Nawrocki argued that the government, instead of actually solving the problem, "is fighting the 'crypto shadow' with maniacal persistence." He argued that the laws would overregulate the market and could push Polish companies out of the industry abroad. The government was of the opposite opinion, believing that the new regulations were intended to help fight abuses on this market and protect consumers. On Friday, the Sejm did not reject the third presidential veto on this bill.
