Rafał Zaorski, followed on the X website by over a quarter of a million people, has been positioning himself as the “guru” of the Polish stock exchange for years. However, as “Puls Biznesu” found out, Recently, his image has been subject to a final criminal judgment.
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The case concerns the events of 2018, when Zaorski, as the president of Krypto Jam, conducted talks with the management board of Merlin Group (MG) regarding a joint project based on blockchain technology.
Precise shot before the report
As described by “Puls Biznesu”, on July 5, 2018, the public learned about the letter of intent, which increased Merlin's share price by over 65%. In one day, interesting things happened on the accounts controlled by Zaorski.
Between June 19 and 21, 2Z Capital, a company owned by the speculator, purchased MG shares at an average price of PLN 19. When the information about the cooperation with Krypto Jam hit the market, the price shot up to PLN 1.49, and temporarily even PLN 2.15.
The District Court in Warsaw rejected the defense of “market opportunity” and order book analysis. In her justification, judge Aleksandra Rusin-Batko stated: “The accused was not a random investor analyzing the market in search of opportunities, but as the president of KJ, he had full knowledge of the planned cooperation and used it instrumentally, buying shares before the publication of the current report.”
Harsh punishment and “social harm”
Zaorski must pay PLN 250,000. PLN fine and over PLN 50,000. PLN court costs. The defense tried to argue that the penalty was disproportionate, especially since the investment in Merlin ultimately resulted in a loss for 2Z Capital. However, the court remained adamant, recalling that the so-called insider trading is a formal crime – what matters is the fact of using confidential knowledge, not whether the speculator ultimately earned or lost millions.
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The court emphasized that Zaorski's act was characterized by high social harmfulness, measured primarily by “the degree of violation of trust in the capital market“Interestingly, in the same case, the trader's associate, Aleksandra O., was acquitted, as it was found that although she knew about the plans to purchase shares, there was no evidence that she knew the details of the confidential negotiations.
Cryptocurrency promises without fulfillment
The verdict sheds new light on Krypto Jam's activities at that time. Although Zaorski announced acquisitions worth up to PLN 1 billion and the construction of a “Polish Zalando”, the company's financial statements for 2018 showed zero PLN of sales revenue. The boisterously announced token-based loyalty program never came into effect, and the Merlin Group itself is currently in a state of recovery, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Zaorski does not give up his weapons
“Puls Biznesu” contacted Rafał Zaorski regarding this matter.
In an interview with the newspaper, a well-known speculator argues that he was convicted without evidence, and the verdict violates the principle of presumption of innocence. Announces submission cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.
