Rafał Zaorski was charged with misappropriating PLN 1.7 million belonging to the Zondacrypto exchange operator. The well-known speculator pleaded not guilty, and the prosecutor’s office requested his temporary arrest for three months. This is the latest chapter of the story that began with the cooperation of his company Krypto Jam with the BitBay exchange, and today includes a dispute over millions of zlotys, 150 bitcoins and recordings of the missing Sylwester Suszek. However, there were serious discrepancies in the official statements regarding the allegations against Zaorski.
During the official briefing, the spokeswoman of the Prosecutor General, Anna Adamiak, said that Zaorski had been charged with one charge. According to investigators, he allegedly misappropriated PLN 1.7 million entrusted to him by BB Trade Estonia OÜ, an Estonian company that operated the Zondacrypto exchange.
The prosecutor’s office claims that the money was given to Zaorski for a specific purpose, but was used for his own needs. It has not yet been revealed when this would happen, what exactly the funds were entrusted with, or what their agreed purpose was.
Zaorski pleaded not guilty and gave explanations. Before entering the prosecutor’s office, he told journalists that he himself was injured in this case. The next day he added: “I plead not guilty, I am not guilty.” When asked what happened to Sylwester Suszek’s money and whether he had it, he replied that he had no idea and he didn’t have it.
Until the court decides, Zaorski remains detained, not temporarily arrested. The prosecutor’s office request itself does not determine guilt. The court decides on the application of detention, and criminal liability can only be established by a final judgment.
Two official statements and two different versions of the allegations
According to the spokeswoman of the prosecutor’s office, Rafał Z. was charged with one count of misappropriating PLN 1.7 million. In Żurek’s entry, Rafał Z. was accused of participating in an organized criminal group and obstructing proceedings and hiding evidence in the case of Sylwester Suszek’s imprisonment.
This is not an editorial difference, but two completely different descriptions of the allegations. At the briefing, Anna P. was charged with participating in the group and obstructing proceedings, while Jaromira W. was charged with participating in the group, acting to the detriment of the stock exchange operator and money laundering.
As of this writing, there has been no public explanation of this contradiction. Therefore, we use the more detailed information provided by the spokeswoman of the National Prosecutor’s Office during the press conference as the basis for the rest of the article. If the prosecutor’s office confirms the version in the minister’s entry or informs about additional charges, the text should be updated.
Where did Rafał Zaorski come from in the history of BitBay and Zondacrypto?
Zaorski is one of the most recognizable Polish speculators. He built the Trading Jam Session community around him, conducted public transactions and regularly took on high-risk projects. The general public also got to know him thanks to the apartment at Złota 44 and the would-be “Epic Flip”. However, his relationship with Zondacrypto began much earlier, when the exchange was still operating as BitBay.
In May 2018, Krypto Jam SA, a company led by Zaorski, announced the conclusion of an agreement with BitBay “worth PLN 20 million”. Krypto Jam was supposed to act as a market maker, i.e. provide liquidity by placing buy and sell orders.
According to the findings of “Rzeczpospolita”, TVN24 and Wirtualna Polska, the team consisted of ten traders. Everyone was to receive three bitcoins and 150,000. PLN per month, and the funds were provided by Sylwester Suszek. The cooperation lasted less than a year. These are media findings based on former employees’ accounts and company documents, and not the content of the current prosecutor’s charge.
Market making itself is a regular service in the financial and cryptocurrency markets. The animator issues orders on both sides of the sheet, limits the difference between the buy and sell prices and facilitates the conclusion of transactions. However, in the BitBay case, investigators are examining whether the transferred funds were used as agreed.
Recorded conversation: Suszek talked about the debt, Zaorski confirmed it
On December 31, 2020, Sylwester Suszek recorded a conversation with Rafał Zaorski. The recording was revealed in April 2026, and the prosecutor’s office confirmed its authenticity and included it in the evidence.
Suszek told Zaorski that he owed him a lot of money. He also asked about bitcoin sales and unsent funds. Zaorski replied: “I owe you such a debt” and said that he was wondering how to make up for it. However, no specific amount is mentioned in the conversation, and the word “debt” itself does not determine what the legal basis for the settlement was.
After the tapes were revealed, Zaorski did not want to comment further on the recordings. He wrote that fragments are presented out of context. He confirmed his acquaintance with Suszek and cooperation in market animation on BitBay. He also claimed that after seeing the behind-the-scenes of the stock exchange, he withdrew because, in his opinion, the people behind the project were “very dangerous.”
A little over a year after the recorded conversation, Suszek went missing. He was last seen on March 10, 2022, at the fuel base in Czeladź, associated with Marian W., nickname “Maniek”. The prosecutor’s office combined the investigation into Zondacrypto with the investigation into Suszek’s disappearance in the summer of 2026.
A lawsuit for over PLN 6.2 million and 150 bitcoins
The financial conflict was not limited to the recorded conversation. In 2023, BB Trade Estonia OÜ sued the Krypto Jam company before the District Court in Warsaw. The Zondacrypto operator demanded over PLN 6.2 million with interest and a refund of 150 BTC. According to the exchange rate at the time of filing the lawsuit, the total value of the claims exceeded PLN 32 million.
The company claimed the funds were a loan. However, there was no single written agreement that would easily resolve the dispute. The terms of cooperation were reconstructed from correspondence, instant messaging and stock exchange account history.
Zaorski’s website presented a different version. She argued that the bitcoins were capital intended for market making, not a loan repayable under the terms described in the lawsuit.
This means that it cannot be said that Zaorski was legally recognized as a debtor to Zondacrypto for PLN 32 million. Part of the claim relating to bitcoins has been dismissed, and the second part has not yet been legally resolved.
PLN 1.7 million is not PLN 6.2 million or 150 BTC
The new criminal charge concerns PLN 1.7 million. The civil dispute covers PLN 6.285 million, and previously also included 150 BTC. These are three different values and at this stage it is not known whether they concern the same transfers.
The prosecutor’s office did not reveal whether the amount of PLN 1.7 million is part of the claim pursued in the civil case, whether it concerns one of the accounts used by the Krypto Jam band or a completely different operation. She also did not provide the date of the alleged misappropriation.
The general mechanism described at the briefing is reminiscent of an old dispute: in both cases, it involves money transferred to Zaorski or his company for a specific purpose. However, this is not enough to consider both threads as identical. Such a connection would today be a hypothesis, not an established fact.
Why does the prosecutor’s office want Zaorski arrested?
The prosecutor’s office submitted applications for a three-month pre-trial detention of Rafał Z., Anna P. and Jaromira W. Anna Adamiak stated that, according to investigators, this is the only measure that will properly secure the proceedings. She added that the collected evidence indicates an increased likelihood of committing the alleged acts.
However, no detailed justification for the application regarding Zaorski was disclosed. Therefore, it is not known whether the prosecutor’s office refers to the risk of escape, fraud, influencing witnesses, the threatened penalty or several factors at the same time. They will be assessed by the District Court of Katowice-Wschód.
Pre-trial detention is a preventive measure, not a punishment. Even if the court accepts the application, it will not mean that Zaorski is found guilty.
Who are the other two detained people?
Anna P. and Jaromira W. are connected by investigators with Marian W.’s entourage. It was in the area associated with his business that Sylwester Suszek was last seen.
According to the information provided during the briefing, Anna P. was charged with three charges: participation in a group that was to take over Suszka’s assets, acting to the detriment of the Zondacrypto operator and obstructing the proceedings regarding the entrepreneur’s deprivation of liberty. The prosecutor’s office claims that she was supposed to persuade people with knowledge about the day of her disappearance to give false testimony, and also to dismantle and take away the surveillance recording from the place where Suszek was last seen.
Jaromira W. was charged with participation in the group, acting to the detriment of BB Trade Estonia OÜ and money laundering. She also pleaded not guilty. Both women gave explanations.
The investigation covers at least PLN 350 million and a wallet with 4,500 BTC
One of the most important threads is a cold wallet that will contain approximately 4,500 BTC. According to the information provided to the prosecutor’s office, the owner of the exchange has not had access to it since 2022, and customers have not been informed about it.
This does not mean that investigators have determined who has the private keys or that the wallet personally belonged to Sylwester Suszek. This is often presented as certain in the media, but the official announcement from the prosecutor’s office only says that the exchange has lost access and concealed this information from customers.
Zondacrypto is already bankrupt. There is a separate deadline for customers
Criminal proceedings in Poland and bankruptcy proceedings in Estonia are two separate tracks. Securing assets by the Polish prosecutor’s office may help in repairing the damage, but it does not replace reporting the receivable to the trustee.
According to information from the law firm representing some of the creditors, the first meeting of creditors is scheduled for September 17, and the main deadline for submitting claims is October 27, 2026. People who had funds on Zondacrypto should secure account history, deposit and withdrawal confirmations, correspondence with the exchange and balance dumps. They should also consider reporting the damage in the Polish investigation and independently reporting the claim in Estonia.
What will happen now?
The next decision belongs to the District Court Katowice-Wschód. The court may accept the three-month detention or reject the application. In case of refusal, the prosecutor may decide to apply more lenient measures, such as bail, police supervision or a ban on leaving the country.
In the case of Rafał Zaorski, three questions remain the most important. What operation does the amount of PLN 1.7 million refer to? Is it related to Krypto Jam’s cooperation with BitBay and the ongoing lawsuit for PLN 6.285 million? And why does the official entry of the Prosecutor General attribute charges to him other than those presented by the spokeswoman of the National Prosecutor’s Office?
There is no public, clear answer to any of them yet. Zaorski and Suszka’s old business conflict is no longer just a story from a recorded conversation or a civil dispute over money. He became part of one of the most famous investigations in the history of the Polish cryptocurrency market.
