Polish Reporters Say Zondacrypto CEO Was a Front Man for…

Polish media outlet Onet Wiadomości has reported that Przemysław Kral, the missing chief executive of collapsed crypto exchange Zondacrypto, served only as a front man for the business. Citing a source familiar with the investigation at Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office, Onet identified Marian W., known as “Maniek,” as the exchange’s real creator and principal. Kral, the report said, acted as a “słup,” a Polish term for a nominal proxy or figurehead. The allegation has not been established in court, and it is unclear whether Marian W. has been charged specifically with covertly controlling Zondacrypto. Separate Polish reporting, however, says he has faced organized-crime charges and has been linked to the disappearance of BitBay founder Sylwester Suszek.

Zondacrypto was not an anonymous offshore operation. Its operating company, BB Trade Estonia OÜ, held Estonian virtual-currency licence FVT000209 until regulators revoked it in June. Estonia’s Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority warned on May 6 that a white paper for the TeamPL token offered by BB Trade Estonia was missing from the company’s website, contrary to MiCA disclosure requirements; the notice listed Kral as a management-board member. The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit partially suspended the licence on May 18, blocking new client relationships and additional client assets, and then revoked it on June 29 after saying the company had ignored a supervisory order.

Kral was last heard from publicly in an April 16 video in which he told customers Zondacrypto held about 4,500 Bitcoin worth over $330 million. The exchange’s website later went dark. Earlier reporting placed Kral in Israel, where he holds citizenship, after his disappearance became public. Onet later said Kral and Marian W. had moved on to Dubai with their families. The New York Times has cited unconfirmed sightings in Israel, Botswana and Dubai, while a lawyer for Zondacrypto customers said he believed Kral might instead be in Southeast Asia. Polish media also reported in late August that Kral has been cooperating with prosecutors and may have received status commonly described as a “small crown witness,” although the Katowice Regional Prosecutor’s Office has not confirmed that in a new public statement.

The Zondacrypto story begins with BitBay, founded in 2014 by Suszek, who later handed control to Kral as the business was rebranded. Police records date Suszek’s disappearance to March 10, 2022. He left a business meeting in Czeladź later that day and was not seen again. Onet reported the meeting took place at a fuel facility linked to Marian W. and that investigators believe Suszek is dead, though his body has not been found.

Poland’s investigation into Zondacrypto began on April 17 on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. By June 22, prosecutors said they had logged more than 3,600 complaints, questioned nearly 1,000 alleged victims and secured over 250 terabytes of data. Poland and Estonia have formed a joint investigation team.

If Onet’s account is correct, the collapse raises a governance question as well as a financial one: whether the people named as the licensed entity’s directors reflected who actually controlled it. Regulators in both countries are still working to establish where customer assets went and what role each individual around the company played.