Justice Minister and Prosecutor-General Waldemar Żurek said on Friday that Nawrocki had “full information and full insight” into documents concerning Zondacrypto, a cryptocurrency exchange now under investigation for suspected large-scale fraud and money laundering.
Żurek told private broadcaster TVN24 that the documents were classified and could not be disclosed. He said, however, that the president and his aides had been briefed by Poland’s security services.
“I am certain he knew this, because I was present at various conversations and I know that the president and his people are informed about everything,” Żurek said. “The security services prepared the relevant documents.”
He added: “So I am really surprised that, in such a situation, he once again vetoed a law that is meant to protect Polish citizens.”
Asked whether he had knowledge of alleged Russian mafia money behind Zondacrypto, Żurek said he could not reveal details. “There is a Russian trail. Yes, I confirm what the prime minister said,” he added.
The comments add to a growing political dispute over Nawrocki’s veto of a bill regulating Poland’s crypto-asset market. The bill would have given the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) stronger powers, including the ability to halt public cryptocurrency offerings.
Nawrocki has argued that the rules were too restrictive. The governing coalition says the absence of such regulation leaves investors exposed.
On April 17, the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, failed for a second time to override the president’s veto.
Before the vote, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told lawmakers that Zondacrypto’s rise had involved money linked to the Russian mafia, citing information from Polish services.
He also said the company had sponsored political and social events in Poland and promoted specific political forces, including events connected to Nawrocki’s presidential campaign.
Nawrocki rejected the accusations later that day in an interview with Kanał Zero. He said responsibility for around 30,000 people potentially harmed in the Zondacrypto affair lay with Tusk’s government. “I did not regret that veto for a second,” Nawrocki said.
The president said he had received information from Polish security services about Zondacrypto only after his first veto. He also said he did not know Zondacrypto chief executive Przemysław Kral and had never met him or his representatives.
“This matter does not concern me at all,” Nawrocki said. “I do not believe they supported my campaign. I have no such information.”
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice opened an investigation into Zondacrypto on April 17. The case concerns suspected large-scale fraud and money laundering.
Żurek said prosecutors would examine several lines of inquiry, including possible Zondacrypto funding of political groups and foundations linked to members of parliament.
Asked how many people had filed criminal complaints, Żurek said he did not yet have confirmed figures. “As of this morning, I do not yet have confirmation, but I hear that it is already counted in the hundreds,” he said.
At a later press briefing, Żurek said prosecutors had issued instructions for potential victims on how to report suspected crimes.
He said the authorities wanted to identify as many injured parties as possible and secure assets if the company turned out to have operated as a financial pyramid - a scheme in which money from new participants is used to pay earlier participants, rather than coming from genuine profits.
Such schemes usually collapse when new money stops coming in.
Żurek also confirmed that proceedings involving Radosław Piesiewicz, head of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), were connected with Zondacrypto. He said that case concerned settlements and invoices. Zondacrypto has been the committee’s general sponsor since October.
Piesiewicz said on Thursday that he would terminate the sponsorship agreement if the next tranche of money from Zondacrypto did not arrive by the end of April. He said he would not resign and planned to run for another term as head of the committee.
The Zondacrypto case has also revived questions about Sylwester Suszek, founder of BitBay, the exchange that later became Zondacrypto. Suszek disappeared in March 2022.
Zondacrypto has said it owns a wallet containing 4,500 bitcoins, worth more than USD 300 million, but that the keys are held by Suszek.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl