Polish Cryptocurrency Exchange Hit by Ponzi Scheme, Former CEO Disappears with 4,500 Bitcoins' Private Keys

BlockBeats News, May 5th, Poland's leading cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto is facing a serious fraud investigation. Its former CEO went missing in 2022, taking with him the cold wallet private keys holding 4500 bitcoins (currently worth over $340 million). The current CEO has admitted being unable to access the wallet and has recently been reported fleeing to Israel.

Prosecutors estimate potential customer losses at around $97 million. On-chain data shows that the balance of bitcoins in the platform's hot wallet has plummeted by 99.7% since mid-2024, with users widely reporting difficulties in withdrawals. Polish Prime Minister Tusk estimates that as many as 30,000 users may be affected.

Tusk publicly accuses the platform of being funded by Russian-linked money and being used to finance opposition MPs to obstruct cryptocurrency regulation in Poland. He bluntly calls this a "Polish version of a Ponzi scheme" and criticizes the President for twice vetoing the localization bill of the EU's MiCA framework, turning Poland into a "haven for fraudsters."

The platform's board of directors stated they have not received "verifiable information" from the missing CEO and have collectively resigned. The founder, missing since 2022, with a previous mention of a "kidnapping allegation," is still under investigation. This incident is expected to prompt Poland and the EU to enhance regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges.