Polish Olympic Committee President Arrested In Crypto-Linked Graft Probe

Last Updated:August 27, 2026, 5:09 PM IST

Poland’s Olympic committee president has Radoslaw Piesiewicz has been arrested in corruption inquiry.

Polish authorities had launched an investigation in April. (Picture Credit: IG/radoslawpiesiewicz)

The president of Poland’s Olympic Games committee (PKOl) was arrested Thursday as part of corruption inquiry. Radoslaw Piesiewicz is suspected of receiving kickbacks from awarding sponsoring contracts to Zondacrypto, which the Polish government accuses of having links to nationalist opposition groups, organised crime and Russian intelligence services.

“Radoslaw Piesiewicz has been arrested,” Poland’s Sports Minister Jakub Rudnicki confirmed in a post on X.

“Such a person should never have been president of the Polish Olympic Committee… Piesiewicz has discredited Polish Olympics,” he wrote.

Polish authorities launched an investigation in April, which prompted a majority of Poland’s sports federations to call for Piesiewicz’s resignation

They said Piesiewicz was personally responsible for signing a sponsorship agreement with Zondacrypto on behalf of the PKOl, under which Olympic medallists at last February’s Milano-Cortina winter Games were meant to be awarded prizes in cryptocurrency.

The platform encountered financial difficulties and eventually went dark, and any payments of crypto-bonuses to the medallists were random at best.

The government estimates that Zondacrypto’s disappearance caused 350 million zlotys ($94,000,000) in losses, with around 30,000 people falling victim to the company.

Media reports claimed Piesiewicz was gifted in return a watch worth some 40,000 euros ($47,000) from Zondacrypto’s Przemyslaw Kral.

Piesiewicz has said he paid for the watch himself.

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What are the full charges against Radoslaw Piesiewicz?

Radoslaw Piesiewicz, president of the Polish Olympic Committee, was arrested in a corruption inquiry and is suspected of receiving kickbacks from awarding sponsorship contracts to Zondacrypto. The Polish government accuses Zondacrypto of having links to nationalist opposition groups, organised crime, and Russian intelligence services.

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Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More

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