Clients of troubled digital asset exchange Zondacrypto may be entitled to financial compensation from the state despite the lack of proper cryptocurrency regulation in Poland.
This option was highlighted by local media in reports that traders lost access to at least 350 million zlotys of funds on the platform, restricting withdrawals amid solvency issues.
Poland begins investigation into Zonda crash
Polish law enforcement authorities are now looking into the case of Zondacrypto, a major exchange in the local market that stopped processing customer transactions amid liquidity issues.
Prosecutors this week revealed their identities to hundreds of potential victims, whose losses could exceed 350 million zlotys (more than $95 million). The prosecution spokesman said:
“We are currently talking about several hundred people, but that number is constantly growing… The amount of potential fraud is very large.”
The news came amid growing complaints by users unable to access their properties, raising concern about revelations about Zonda’s financial situation, staff layoffs and executive resignations.
Concerns about its solvency began to grow earlier in April when an analysis by market intelligence firm Recoveris found that the platform had lost more than 99% of its reserves.
Despite rejecting media reports citing the study, maintaining the stability of the stock exchange, its CEO Przemyslaw Kral I confess The company does not have access to a wallet with 4,500 BTC.
According to the CEO, missing founder Seloster Soszczyk had not handed over the key to the wallet containing over $330 million worth of Bitcoin at the time of his death. advertisement.
Suszek founded the cryptocurrency company under the name BitBay in 2014, the Notes portal from Poland said in a report on Tuesday.
It was sold to a US investor and rebranded as Zondacrypto in 2021, with management transferred to Kral, who has expanded the business, including through active advertising and nursing In sports.
Suszek disappeared in March of the following year. Zonda was founded in Poland, and now operates under an Estonian license.
Zonda is halting operations amid layoffs and resignations
While Zondacrypto has not yet formally declared bankruptcy, the termination agreements sent to employees cite “complete liquidation” as the reason for their release, Bankier.pl revealed on Wednesday.
Documents seen by other Polish media, such as financial news site Money.pl, also indicate that the cryptocurrency company has ceased operations.
All members of the supervisory board of the platform operator, BB Trade Estonia, resigned last week. Their departure was followed by the resignation of the Directors of Compliance and Cybersecurity.
According to laid-off employees contacted by the press, the stock exchange is in chaos. Some of their calculations indicate that debts to customers may eventually exceed 500 million zlotys.
Meanwhile, some media reports have claimed that the Zonda CEO may have also disappeared. Kral has not commented publicly on the fate of the company he has been running since mid-April.
The expert says that Zondacrypto users may apply for compensation
About 30,000 customers may have been affected by the collapse of a leading Polish cryptocurrency exchange amid suspicions of fraud, according to one estimate.
While Poland has not yet comprehensively regulated the digital asset market, provisions of current Polish law allow clients to seek compensation for their losses from the state.
“There will be lawsuits – against the company itself, against members of its management bodies, but this is where things get really interesting – against the state treasury,” one lawyer told Bankier.pl.
According to legal expert, Jan Ziomek, such claims may be filed in both Poland and Estonia, and clients have strong grounds for such claims.
Users are advised to collect all available data, including balance confirmations and transaction history as well as any correspondence with customer service.
Polish politicians, most of them from the ruling centre-left coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, are trying to link their losses to the absence of dedicated legislation for cryptocurrencies.
A draft law proposed by the government aims to implement the European Union Mika The rules were rejected twice by President Karol Nawrocki and he failed to overcome them veto Again last week, as well I mentioned By Cryptopolitan.
