Zondacrypto Investigation Widens as Fifth Suspect Detained

A Polish court has ordered the pretrial detention of Roman Ż., the fifth suspect in the sprawling Zondacrypto crypto investigation, deepening a fraud and money-laundering case that has already frozen the assets of hundreds of thousands of users.

The Katowice court's decision marks the latest step in a probe that keeps widening in scope, number of suspects charged, and size of alleged losses.

Prosecutors say the group misappropriated at least 7.8 million złoty (approximately $2 million) from exchange users through unauthorized data manipulation.

The Zondacrypto case began with BitBay, an exchange launched in Katowice in 2014 by Sylwester Suszek that grew into one of Poland's most recognized crypto platforms, claiming over a million registered users.