A District Court in the southern Polish city of Katowice has approved pretrial detention for Roman Ż., the fifth person publicly charged in the criminal investigation into collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto. Poland’s Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek confirmed the ruling late on the evening of September 7, 2026.
The National Prosecutor’s Office said prosecutors presented two charges against Roman Ż. on September 7. The first is participation in an organized criminal group whose alleged aim was to commit computer fraud and cause damage to exchange users of no less than 7.8 million złoty (PLN), roughly $2.1 million.
The second is misappropriation of user funds in the same amount, allegedly carried out with other identified persons through unauthorized changes, deletions, and additions of computer data, and by interfering with how the exchange processed and transmitted that data.
Roman Ż. did not admit the charges and gave a statement, prosecutor Anna Adamiak, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General, said. Prosecutors asked the District Court Katowice-East (Sąd Rejonowy Katowice-Wschód) to impose pretrial detention, citing a possible sentence of up to 10 years, a risk of obstructing the case, and a risk of flight.
Police detained him in the Silesia region on the afternoon of September 5 after officers received information that he planned to travel to China. During searches, officers seized documentation linked to the exchange and valuable watches.
Żurek later wrote that the court granted the detention request. None of the charges have been proven in court. Under Polish law, a suspect is presumed innocent until a final judgment.
From BitBay to Zondacrypto: How the case reached this point
Zondacrypto grew out of BitBay, a platform founded in Poland in 2014 by Sylwester Suszek. After warnings from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego, or KNF), the business’s operations were later registered in Estonia under BB Trade Estonia OÜ, and the brand was changed to Zondacrypto in 2021.
Suszek was reportedly last publicly seen on March 10, 2022, at a fuel station in Czeladź, a small town in Silesia. A separate investigation into his disappearance was later linked to the exchange case. On July 30, 2026, the National Prosecutor’s Office merged the two files, saying the circumstances of the exchange’s founding and operation may be relevant to findings about the disappearance.
On April 17, 2026, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice opened an investigation into suspected large-scale fraud and money laundering. The official notice said the case covers alleged deception of many people about the ability to buy and store fiat currency and cryptocurrency on the platform, along with alleged handling of funds that could conceal their origin. The period under review begins in 2022.
Prosecutors said the case was opened after complaints from users and public reports of blocked withdrawals. They also noted a company statement that, from 2022, the platform had lacked access to a cold wallet said to hold about 4,500 bitcoin (BTC), and that this fact had not been disclosed to customers.
At the start of the investigation, prosecutors estimated damages of no less than 350 million zloty, roughly $94 million to $100 million at market conversions used in later English-language reporting. They said the figure could rise as more complaints arrived. By mid-2026, more than 3,600 notices had been filed.
On August 27, 2026, the Harju County Court in Tallinn, Estonia, declared BB Trade Estonia OÜ insolvent and appointed a trustee. Creditors were given a deadline, published by the trustee, of October 27, 2026, to file claims. The first creditors’ meeting was scheduled in Tallinn for September 17, 2026. Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had earlier revoked the operator’s license, after first placing the company on notice with a partial license suspension in May.
Other charged persons and related court steps
Before Roman Ż., prosecutors charged Radosław P., president of the Polish Olympic Committee (Polski Komitet Olimpijski, or PKOl), on August 27 with paid protection and with satisfying one group of creditors to the detriment of others in connection with threatened insolvency. A court later ordered his pretrial detention. He has denied wrongdoing.
On September 2, police detained Anna P., Jaromira W., and Rafał Z. Courts approved three-month pretrial detention for all three on September 4. Prosecutors said the charges against the two women include participation in an organized group alleged to have targeted assets linked to Suszek, and causing large-scale damage to the exchange operator, including alleged transfers of company funds and property in Katowice.
Rafał Z. was charged in connection with the alleged misappropriation of 1.7 million zloty entrusted by the operator. All three hold the status of suspects, not convicted persons.
Prosecutors have said they froze more than 100 million zloty for possible future compensation. They also reported a freeze of 4 million euro in a French bank account tied to a company transfer registered in Monaco.
Consequences already recorded
Users reported that withdrawals stopped in April 2026. Sports bodies that had sponsorship or prize arrangements with the platform publicly ended or threatened to end those contracts after funds were not paid. Among them were football clubs and the PKOl’s prize program for Winter Olympic medalists. Athletes said token prizes were not available for conversion.
The Estonian bankruptcy means that recovery, if any, will run through the trustee process in Tallinn, along with any assets secured in the Polish criminal case. Prosecutors have said the Katowice investigation has been extended into January 2027.
Przemysław Kral, who led the company after 2022, has not appeared in Poland for questioning, according to public prosecutor updates. Media reports have suggested possible locations abroad. Those reports remain unverified in the court record.
The investigation is ongoing. No court has issued a verdict on the collapse, the missing founder, or the five people now charged.
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