Polish Olympic Committee president detained in Zondacrypto bribery probe

Radosław Piesiewicz, the president of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), has been detained as part of an investigation centring on the digital asset platform Zondacrypto, Poland's attorney general said on Thursday. Piesiewicz is a prominent figure in Polish sport and now faces accusations of accepting bribes in exchange for sponsorship arrangements.

Reporting by Euro.news, along with a joint investigation by broadcasters TVN24 and Wirtualna Polska, said Zondacrypto's chief executive gave Piesiewicz a watch worth more than $40,000. Piesiewicz has said he purchased the watch himself using cash. The alleged bribe also involved plans for Polish medallists at February's Winter Olympics to be awarded prizes in cryptocurrency.

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said in a post on X that the prosecutor's office would release more details once proceedings involving Piesiewicz conclude at the Silesian Department of the National Prosecutor's Office. He did not elaborate further on the status of the case.

Zondacrypto's collapse

The detention adds to a widening set of problems for Zondacrypto, which went under in April after a liquidity crisis. Earlier this year, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the company of maintaining links to the Russian mafia and secret services. Tusk also noted that Zondacrypto sponsored a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event in Poland last year, where former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed support for Karol Nawrocki's presidential campaign, according to the Associated Press.

Poland's Sport and Tourism Minister, Jakub Rutnicki, said Piesiewicz was never fit to lead the PKOl. "We've been talking about this for months, and the sports community is also speaking out about it," Rutnicki wrote on X, adding that Piesiewicz had disgraced Polish Olympism and used the image of Polish athletes for his own ends. He said the ministry is awaiting word from prosecutors.