The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection responds to Zondacrypto's problems. “Proceedings pending”
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection told PAP that the president of the office may check whether a company uses practices that violate the collective interests of consumers – for example through unfair contract clauses.
“In this context, on January 31, 2025, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiated explanatory proceedings against the operator of the zondacrypto.com website – BB Trade Estonia OÜ. We are analyzing the principles of concluding, performing and terminating contracts in terms of possible violations and prohibited clauses,” the office said.
Check: The number of victims of Zondacrypto is growing. Customers report new losses
It was emphasized that so far over 200 signals regarding Zondacrypto have been received, almost all of them in the last two weeks. “The proceedings are ongoing,” noted the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is looking into the Zondacrypto case. “Criminal Activities”
In the information sent to PAP by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, it was pointed out that in the case of Zondacrypto, there may be irregularities that are more serious than prohibited provisions in the regulations, and potentially – as the office put it – “criminal activity”.
Look: Radosław Piesiewicz about Zondacrypto. He mentioned the situation involving Donald Tusk
“The issues that arise concern not only possible misleading, but above all possible fraud, improper use of funds, money laundering and the still unexplained disappearance of the founder of Zondacrypto. The Prime Minister has drawn attention to the particularly serious and complex nature of this case several times. Such issues significantly go beyond the mandate of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection,” the office noted.
“From the very beginning, the main burden of clarifying this case rests with institutions with competences in the field of combating financial crime, including the Prosecutor's Office, the Internal Security Agency and the General Inspectorate of Financial Information, because we are talking about suspicions of fraud or money laundering, requiring the use of operational techniques, complex investigative tools or analysis of financial flows. From the very beginning, we have recognized the priority and jurisdiction of these institutions in clarifying this case,” added the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
Zondacrypto problems. Resignations in the operator's supervisory board
At the beginning of April, the media reported that the Zondacrypto cryptocurrency exchange may have serious liquidity problems. The analysis, obtained by money.pl and Wirtualna Polska, showed a decrease in bitcoin reserves on Zondacrypto by 99%. Journalists reported that users complained about problems with withdrawing funds. The president of Zondacrypto, Przemysław Kral, assured in a statement that Zondacrypto is a stable, solvent and safe entity, and the money.pl analysis is “erroneous, untrue and unfair.”
Read: Investigation into the Zondacrypto cryptocurrency exchange. The prosecutor's office informs
The Zondacrypto exchange has a portfolio worth PLN 4.5 thousand. bitcoins, valued at over USD 300 million, but – as Kral reported on Thursday – the keys to them are held by the missing Sylwester Suszek, the founder of the BitBay exchange, the predecessor of Zondacrypto. Suszek, called the “king of cryptocurrencies”, disappeared in March 2022.
The investigation into possible fraud to the detriment of customers of the Zondacrypto cryptocurrency exchange is being conducted by the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Katowice. According to investigators' findings, the total amount of damage is currently no less than PLN 350 million.
On Sunday, a joint statement by former members of the supervisory board: Veronica Tugo (chairman), Guido Buehler and Dzhanashvili was published on the LinkedIn profile of Giorgi Dzhanashvili, a member of the supervisory board of the Estonian company BB Trade Estonia OÜ, whose cryptocurrency license enables Zondacrypto to operate. They announced that they had independently resigned from the supervisory board.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced last week that – according to estimates – the number of people injured in connection with Zondacrypto's activities may be up to 30,000. people.
