Police detained the president of the Polish Olympic Committee on Thursday on suspicion of accepting bribes linked to a major sponsorship deal with a now-collapsed cryptocurrency firm. Officials confirmed the arrest of Radosław Piesiewicz as part of a wider criminal investigation into Zondacrypto.

Arrest Confirmed by Government Officials

Sports Minister Jakub Rudnicki announced the detention, stating that such a person should never have held the position of president of the Polish Olympic Committee and that Piesiewicz had discredited Polish Olympic efforts. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński described him as a symbol of extreme corruption within the Olympic movement, noting that his election had been supported by the previous nationalist Law and Justice government.

Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed that Piesiewicz had been detained in connection with the Zondacrypto probe and would face charges. Prosecutors are examining possible crimes related to financing provided by the firm to various individuals and organisations, including the Olympic committee and its leadership.

Sponsorship Deal and Alleged Benefits

Under Piesiewicz’s leadership, the Polish Olympic Committee signed an agreement in 2025 making Zondacrypto the main sponsor of the Polish team at the Winter Olympics in Italy. The deal included plans to award cryptocurrency prizes to Olympic medallists. Delivery of those bonuses proved irregular, and many went unpaid after the firm’s collapse.

Media investigations reported that Piesiewicz received a Patek Philippe watch valued at approximately €40,000 along with other gifts from Przemysław Kral, the former head of Zondacrypto. Authorities are probing claims that these items were provided in return for Piesiewicz intervening with Poland’s consumer protection authority on the firm’s behalf. Piesiewicz has denied wrongdoing, stating that he purchased the watch with his own funds and that Kral only assisted with the transaction.

Kral is reported to be cooperating with prosecutors while seeking a reduced sentence. The firm’s original founder, Sylwester Suszek, disappeared in 2022, after which Kral assumed leadership.

Firm Collapse and Scale of Losses

Zondacrypto began facing serious problems in April when customers reported being unable to access their funds. The company subsequently collapsed. Prosecutors estimate losses to clients of at least 350 million zlotys, equivalent to roughly €80 million to €81 million, affecting around 30,000 people. The interior minister characterised the operation as a Ponzi scheme in practice.

The investigation into the firm’s activities has expanded to examine potential links to organised crime and foreign intelligence services. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that the company’s financial success involved money connected to Russian organised crime groups and security services. He has also noted that the firm’s founder had disappeared and was very probably dead.

Broader Political Context and Calls for Resignation

The probe encompasses financing provided by Zondacrypto to several individuals and entities associated with Poland’s right-wing opposition. These include foundations linked to former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who has left for the United States, as well as other politicians, the conservative broadcaster Republika, and the Polish edition of the CPAC conference.

Most of Poland’s sports federations called for Piesiewicz’s resignation after the investigation opened in April. In May, 82 of the 106 members of the Polish Olympic Committee backed a motion for an extraordinary meeting solely to dismiss him. He has so far declined to convene it.

President Karol Nawrocki, elected in 2025 and aligned with nationalist positions, has vetoed three separate government bills seeking tighter regulation of the cryptocurrency market. Tusk has linked these vetoes to the emerging details of the Zondacrypto case, referring to payments for expensive watches, media support, election events and political foundations.

Opposition figures have rejected suggestions of illegal involvement, arguing that no evidence or indictments have been presented against Law and Justice politicians and describing the statements as an attempt to distract from the current government’s performance.

Piesiewicz, who took office in 2023, has previously clashed with the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk over the management of Polish sport following disappointing Olympic results.