Head of Polish Olympic Committee Piesiewicz remains in custody – court dismisses defence appeal
The District Court in Katowice upheld the remand in custody of Radosław Piesiewicz, head of the Polish Olympic Committee. He faces charges of paid protection and acting to the detriment of creditors of Zondacrypto.
Custody of head of Polish Olympic Committee upheld
The District Court in Katowice on Monday 14 September dismissed the appeal of Radosław Piesiewicz's defence and upheld the decision to remand him in custody for three months – according to wiadomosci.gazeta.pl. Information about the contents of the ruling was provided to journalists by prosecutor Justyna Grzesiak; shortly afterwards it was confirmed by Piesiewicz's defence lawyer, attorney Jędrzej Kupczyński.
The District Court Katowice-East issued approval for custody on 29 August, at the request of the prosecution. The head of the Polish Olympic Committee appealed against that decision, but the higher court did not uphold his arguments.
Attorney Kupczyński had previously informed the Polish Press Agency of complications in submitting the appeal. The district court postponed issuing the justification of the custody ruling by seven days, which delayed the moment from which the time limit for lodging a challenge could formally begin to run.
Two charges
Authorities detained Piesiewicz on 27 August in Warsaw. The Silesian Division of the National Prosecutor's Office brought two charges against him the same day.
The first concerns paid protection. According to the prosecution, Piesiewicz in 2025 invoked his influence at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, allegedly resulting from acquaintance with a former prime minister. In exchange for a watch worth nearly 170,000 zlotys, he was allegedly to take upon himself settling a matter concerning proceedings by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection against the cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto on behalf of its head, Przemysław Kral.
The second charge covers acting to the detriment of creditors. The prosecution claims that in April 2025 – when information publicly emerged about Zondacrypto's solvency problems – Piesiewicz pressured a board member of BB Trade Estonia OU to withdraw funds from the exchange totalling 195,000 zlotys and 100,000 euros.
Suspect's denials
When at the end of August Piesiewicz was brought to a custody hearing, he stated that he feels innocent and provided all detailed explanations. "I lost 200,000 euros, I paid for the watch, what am I supposed to admit to?" he asked. He also denied the prosecution's assertion that he had recovered funds from Zondacrypto.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)