'Ties to Russian security services'
“At the source of this company’s financial success are not only Russian funds linked to organized crime, but also ties to Russian security services,” Tusk said.
He added that the company’s founder had disappeared under unclear circumstances and is presumed dead.
According to Tusk, Polish intelligence services indicate the company’s rise began in 2022 with funding from Russian criminal networks.
The prime minister said the issue was particularly concerning because the firm had become a sponsor of political and social events in Poland, promoting right-wing and far-right groups.
He cited its role as a strategic sponsor of a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event held in the southeastern city of Rzeszów during the 2025 presidential campaign, attended by figures including then-President Andrzej Duda and current President Karol Nawrocki, who was a candidate at the time.
Tusk also told MPs that the company had directly financed politicians from the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the far-right Confederation group, "including some present in parliament and others abroad."
Addressing PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, he asked whether he was aware that one of his deputies had received funds from the exchange, in an apparent reference to former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, a deputy party leader now under investigation over the alleged misuse of public funds and other charges.
Ziobro took shelter in Hungary earlier this year, but the country's incoming prime minister, Peter Magyar, has said the country will no longer host "internationally wanted criminals."
Tusk further criticised a proposed amendment to crypto legislation by PiS lawmaker Michał Wójcik, saying it would have reduced penalties for crypto-related crimes.
Polish lawmakers on Friday failed for a second time to override Nawrocki’s veto of a bill aimed at regulating the crypto-asset market, after opposition parties voted against overturning it.
The proposed law was intended to implement European Union regulations under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, introducing oversight measures and enforcement powers for Poland’s financial regulator KNF.
These included the ability to halt public offerings, impose fines and block fraudulent websites.
Presidential officials defended the veto, saying it was not opposition to regulation itself but to what they described as a flawed model.
'Political rhetoric and a smokescreen'
Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the president’s office, argued that the law in its current form would not necessarily improve consumer protection and could drive businesses out of Poland due to excessive restrictions.
"The argument that this law would help stop the financing of Russia’s war is merely political rhetoric and a smokescreen," Bogucki said.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński decried the opposition's vote against the bill and pledged the government would continue efforts to regulate the crypto sector.
"The plan is to keep addressing this until we succeed—until awareness of the threats and the shadowy interests linking some right-wing politicians to this cryptocurrency exchange finally reaches the president," he said.
The bill, which had already been vetoed once in December, was reintroduced by the government and passed again in February before being vetoed a second time on Friday.
The revised version differed mainly in the proposed cap on supervisory fees, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Government officials and ruling coalition lawmakers argue that the absence of regulation creates legal gaps and leaves consumers exposed.
'Goldmine for fraudsters'