Collapsed exchange Zondacrypto, accused of Russian ties, helped write Polish crypto law via bank lobby

From committee member to law drafter

On 9 January 2024, the ZBP’s Cybersecurity Committee accepted BB Trade Estonia, the operator of Zondacrypto, as a supporting member. Within weeks, the association’s legal advisor sent the draft cryptoasset law to CEO Przemysław Kral, asking for comments by 6 March. Kral responded, warning that the bill gave excessively broad powers to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).

“The greatest concerns are raised by the broad powers granted to the Financial Supervision Authority.”

ZBP folded Kral’s comments into its official submission to the Finance Ministry in March 2024. Ministry records later showed that some of the exchange’s suggestions were adopted in the final government proposal. In November 2024, Kral personally attended ZBP working-group meetings on crypto investment fraud.

A company under a cloud

In December 2025, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a closed-door parliamentary session that Zondacrypto had been taken over by Russian mafia and Russian intelligence services. He repeated the charge in April 2026, citing a note from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW). By then, the exchange had already ceased customer withdrawals and its website went dark.

Three vetoes and political accusations

The cryptocurrency act became a protracted political battle. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the bill three times, finally on 11 June 2026, arguing it ignored nearly all objections raised by his chancellery during the legislative process.

“The government stubbornly fights 'crypto shadow' instead of actually solving the problem. Bad law does not become good just because it is voted on a hundred times.”

Tusk responded by suggesting the president might be more deeply involved with the exchange than previously believed. The money.pl investigation then revealed the exchange’s role in drafting the rules, prompting journalists to accuse the ABW of failing to monitor the process and feeding the prime minister distorted information.

Investigation and damages

The Katowice Regional Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on 17 April 2026 into fraud and money laundering at Zondacrypto, estimating initial losses at 350 million zloty, with the number of victims and damages growing daily.