Polish Zondacrypto crown‑witness investigation

Polish prosecutors have been pursuing Przemysław Kral, the former head of the cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto, as a potential crown witness in a large‑scale fraud and money‑laundering case. On 26 July, a delegation led by prosecutor Marek Wełna travelled to a Gulf state to meet Kral, who resides in Monaco, in an effort to secure his cooperation. The meeting was described as secret and aimed at gathering information about the exchange’s alleged client fraud, the disappearance of BitBay founder Sylwester Suszek, and losses affecting roughly 30 000 investors.

Four days later, on 30 July, Kral was taken to a hotel in the same Gulf country for a clandestine interview attended by prosecutors and two high‑profile lawyers, Roman Giertgych and Jacek Dubois. Polish law normally requires such crown‑witness interrogations to be held in a designated domestic office, raising procedural questions about the abroad setting. At this stage no formal charges have been filed; a court must first decide whether to grant Kral crown‑witness status. The investigation, now coordinated by the Katowice Regional Prosecutor’s Office under new lead Justyna Grzesiak, is being merged with a separate inquiry, and Estonia has revoked Zondacrypto’s operating licence.