Key facts
- Romana Ż. was charged with participating in an organized criminal group and misappropriating 7.8 million zlotys ($2.1 million) in user funds.
- Prosecutors requested pretrial detention for Romana Ż. due to flight risk or interference concerns.
- The suspect denied the charges.
- Three other individuals detained earlier face charges including money laundering and misappropriation.
- Total estimated losses connected to Zondacrypto are at least 350 million zlotys.
Polish prosecutors have formally charged an individual, identified as Romana Ż., with participating in an organized criminal group and allegedly misappropriating 7.8 million zlotys, equivalent to $2.1 million, in user funds from the cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto.
Prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention for Romana Ż., citing concerns about flight risk or interference with the ongoing investigation. The suspect, detained on September 5, has denied the charges and provided a statement. Prosecutors allege that Romana Ż., acting with others, made unauthorized changes to computer records and interfered with data processing and transmission to misappropriate entrusted funds.
This development follows charges against three other individuals detained on September 2, who face allegations including money laundering, misappropriation of company assets, and participation in an organized criminal group. A Polish court ordered these three individuals to be held in pretrial detention for up to three months.
Prosecutors estimate the total losses connected to Zondacrypto to be at least 350 million zlotys. The investigation was merged in July with a separate probe into the 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, the founder of BitBay, which was later renamed Zondacrypto. Zondacrypto's Estonian operator, BB Trade Estonia, was declared bankrupt in August, with its first creditors' meeting scheduled for September 17.