Polish Exchange Under Control of Notorious Russian Crime Syndicate

A Polish cryptocurrency exchange has been found to be under the control of a notorious Russian crime syndicate since 2018.

Zondacrypto, one of the largest exchanges in Central and Eastern Europe, halted withdrawals earlier this month due to concerns over its liquidity. The exchange's troubles have sparked a heated debate over crypto regulation in Poland, with the ruling majority and President Karol Nawrocki at odds over a government-proposed bill.

The Internal Security Agency (ABW) has revealed that the Tambov gang acquired a controlling stake in Zonda through a Polish intermediary when the company was known as BitBay. The deal was reportedly financed by the Russian mobsters, who paid 'tens of millions of euros' for the shares.