Polish PM links crypto firm to Russian mob, rival funding

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament on Friday that Zondacrypto, a cryptocurrency firm he linked to Russia’s Bratva organized crime group and Russian intelligence services, provided financial support to political rivals as lawmakers debated new crypto rules.

He accused some politicians of blocking the government’s draft regulation to benefit the firm and said Zondacrypto had funded candidates and events that supported President Karol Nawrocki.

Tusk added that Zondacrypto sponsored a Conservative Political Action Conference event held in Poland last year where U.S. political figures voiced support for Nawrocki’s presidential bid. Nawrocki won the presidency in June and received backing from U.S. President Donald Trump during the campaign.

“The source of this company’s financial success is Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva and to Russian secret services,” Tusk said in parliament.

Nawrocki’s office replied that the president supports regulating crypto-assets in principle but vetoed the bill because of what it described as a flawed regulatory model. The office said the veto aimed to improve the draft law’s approach rather than block regulation.

The Friday vote sought to overturn the presidential veto. In December, lawmakers failed to overturn the veto, delaying efforts to align Poland’s national rules with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

Tusk’s administration says clearer national rules are needed to bring crypto exchanges and token issuers under supervision and to protect investors. Opponents of the draft law argued some provisions would not fit market realities or could harm smaller businesses.

Zondacrypto has not issued a public response to the allegations. Lawmakers continued debating whether to accept amendments to the bill or to sustain the presidential veto.