Fifth Suspect Charged in Polish Crypto Exchange Collapse Investigation

Polish prosecutors have charged a former business partner of Sylwester Suszek, the missing founder of crypto exchange BitBay, later rebranded as Zondacrypto, with two offenses including fraud. The suspect, identified only as Roman Ż. under Polish privacy rules, becomes at least the fifth person charged as authorities widen their investigation into the exchange’s dramatic collapse.

Exchange Collapse Left Thousands of Customers Affected

BitBay, founded in 2014 and boasting more than one million registered users before its 2021 rebrand, halted trading in April after customers began reporting frozen and delayed withdrawals. The exchange had already suspended bitcoin deposits in March, citing market volatility, before its website eventually went offline entirely. Estonian financial regulators subsequently suspended the operating license of the company behind the platform, blocking it from accepting new customer funds. The fallout left users facing estimated losses of at least $94 million, prompting Polish authorities to open a formal fraud and money laundering investigation after receiving thousands of complaints.

Investigation Tied to Founder’s Disappearance

The case has taken on added significance after prosecutors merged it with a separate inquiry into the 2022 disappearance of Suszek, who left the company sometime after its rebrand. Investigators say understanding how the exchange was built and operated could help clarify what happened to him. The newly charged suspect, arrested over the weekend in Poland’s Silesian region, previously helped manage the exchange during its earlier years, according to his legal representative, who confirmed his client denies the allegations and has cooperated extensively with investigators. Police reportedly seized valuable items and documents linked to the exchange during searches, and prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention over concerns the suspect might leave the country.

Part of a Broader Crackdown

This latest charge follows a string of arrests connected to the case, including a prominent sports official accused of favoring certain creditors during the exchange’s financial troubles, along with several other individuals detained in recent weeks as the investigation continues to expand.