Last weekend, the District Court of Katowice-Wschód decided to temporarily arrest Radosław Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, a suspect in the investigation into the activities of the Zondacrypto cryptocurrency exchange. According to one of Piesiewicz's defenders, attorney Jędrzej Kupczyński, the court postponed the preparation of the justification for the decision for seven days. This means that for now, attorneys cannot file a complaint against their client's temporary arrest.
From the technical side, we are currently a bit blocked because the District Court of Katowice-Wschód, which decided on the arrest, postponed the preparation of the justification for this decision for a period of seven days - explained the lawyer. Only after this time will the parties be served with the decision and its justification, which will open the way to filing a complaint.
Radosław Piesiewicz was detained on Thursday in Warsaw and then taken to the Silesian department of the National Prosecutor's Office, where he faced serious charges. The prosecutor's office claims that in 2025, the head of the Polish Olympic Committee referred to his influence in the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which resulted from his acquaintance with the former prime minister. In exchange for a financial benefit - a luxury watch worth nearly PLN 170,000. PLN - he was supposed to handle the matter for the head of Zondacrypto, Przemysław Kral. It was about the proceedings of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection regarding this cryptocurrency exchange.
The second crime Piesiewicz is suspected of involves satisfying Zondacrypto's creditors to the detriment of others. According to the prosecutor's office, in April this year, when Zondacrypto was struggling with financial problems, the president of the Polish Olympic Committee allegedly persuaded a member of the management board of BB Trade Estonia OU (the operator of the zondacrypto.com website) to withdraw funds - PLN 195,000. PLN and 100 thousand euro – bypassing other creditors.
During interrogation at the prosecutor's office, Radosław Piesiewicz pleaded not guilty. I lost 200 thousand euro, I paid for the watch, what do I have to admit - he said on Friday evening when he was taken to the detention hearing. He assured that he had provided investigators with all detailed information and described the last hours as "nothing pleasant." Piesiewicz firmly denied that he had recovered the money from Zondacrypto, as the prosecutor's office suggested. He announced that he would provide more detailed explanations later.
The investigation into the Zondacrypto case was initiated by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice on April 17, 2026. It concerns suspected fraud of significant value and money laundering. So far, the prosecutor's office has already received several thousand reports of crime.
At the beginning of August this year, the investigation into Zondacrypto was combined with the proceedings conducted by the Silesian department of the National Prosecutor's Office regarding the disappearance of Sylwester Suszek - the founder of the BitBay cryptocurrency exchange, the predecessor of Zondacrypto. Suszek went missing in March 2022 and has not been found yet. The combined investigation is currently being conducted by the Silesian department of the National Prosecutor's Office.
