Russian Mafia Accused of Controlling Polish Crypto Exchange

The cryptocurrency market in Poland has been rocked by revelations that one of its largest exchanges, Zondacrypto, has been controlled by a notorious Russian crime syndicate. The Tambov gang, known for their involvement in fuel and energy markets, allegedly acquired a controlling stake in the exchange through a Polish intermediary in 2018.

According to reports from the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which cited information from the country's Internal Security Agency (ABW), the Russian mobsters paid 'tens of millions of euros' on two occasions to take over the platform. The shares were officially purchased by three companies registered in the UAE, but it is believed that the deal was financed by the Tambov gang.

The troubles at Zonda started earlier this month when the exchange stopped processing withdrawals amid suspected issues with liquidity. The company's current CEO, Przemysław Kral, initially rejected claims of insolvency but eventually admitted that the exchange didn't have access to a wallet holding 4,500 BTC. He blamed Sylwester Suszek, BitBay co-founder and one of Zonda's shareholders, for never handing over the keys when transferring authority to Zonda's new executive team a few years ago.